


Blizzards in Arendelle: The Story of the Twin Queens

by ThreeLinks



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/F, Post-Movie(s), War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-20
Updated: 2015-01-19
Packaged: 2018-02-14 00:34:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 140,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2171229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThreeLinks/pseuds/ThreeLinks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elsa's powers weren't the only secret the King and Queen took to their grave. Queen Elsa's whole life is changed when this secret decides to come home and turns out to be her long lost identical twin sister; Elsacest pairing is actuall Elsa/onionElsa (also known as earlyElsa, conceptElsa, ducktail Elsa) It's not really OC, but it's not Elsa either.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

On the day of the winter solstice of 1820, Queen Idun of Arendelle gave birth to her first child, Princess Elsa. Officially, Queen Idun gave birth to a completely healthy and normal baby girl who was to become the heir to the Arendelle throne. However, it had taken several days for news of the Princess's birth to reach the ears of anyone, even the most trusted castle staff members. Rumors spread of complications during childbirth, but eventually the delay had been forgotten by all except for the royal servants who would eventually learn of Elsa's magical power over ice and snow. Yet not even these most trusted staff members were aware of what really took place during those few days following Princess Elsa's birth.

Unknown to all but the doctor and midwife, both of whom mysteriously disappeared by the end of the year, Princess Elsa was born with an unexpected identical twin, Princess Elise. Nothing else is known about the events following their birth except that Elsa's powers had manifested them self in front of the King and Queen. It can only be assumed that Elise's did as well and that something convinced the King and Queen to send Princess Elise away to the far northern regions of Scandinavia. How King Agdar managed to get Princess Elise out of the castle remains a complete mystery; however the why can be more easily speculated. It is possible that the King had discovered a forgotten prophecy that told of an ice sorceress who would curse the land in eternal winter. It is unknown why only Princess Elise was sent away and not Elsa or both of them as the exact text that the King was using has yet to be recovered, possibly lost at sea. It is quite possible Elise's jet black hair convinced them that she represented the dark side of the magical powers and that Elsa, with her platinum blonde hair, represented the good.

Princess Elise had been sent to a small village in the artic circle in what was actually the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway on the Nordkinn Peninsula. Around the year 1830, the small village had been wiped out. Archeologists discovered that it had been frozen over and its inhabitants frozen solid. It's unknown if the young Princess Elise intentionally or accidently froze the village. However, it is known that Elise fled to the North Pole over an ice bridge she created herself. There Princess Elise lived in isolation for twelve years. Princess Elise knew she had a twin sibling, but was unaware of her true identity as an Arendelle princess. It is also known that Princess Elise learned to master control of her magic and used ice creatures of her own creation to spy on the kingdoms across Europe. This is how she learned of the events of Queen Elsa's coronation. Princess Elise set off to Arendelle as soon as she heard of the Great Freeze, convinced that she was Elsa's twin sister and heir to the throne of Arendelle.

It was during a powerful blizzard in the fall of 1842 that Princess Elise finally arrived in Arendelle.


	2. A Chilling Encounter

It had been four months since Elsa's coronation, four months since her secret came out, four months since her life changed for the better. Elsa sat at her desk, alone in her study with nothing but the work in front of her and the candles holding the darkness of night at bay. The fireplace lay dormant to keep people away so that she could be alone. It helped that the cold didn't bother her. However, this wasn't the same Elsa that sought out isolation out on the North Mountain. Elsa had changed since the coronation incident, or the Greet Freeze as the public and press called it. She no longer isolated herself from the world. She couldn't really, not if she looked forward to being a good leader anyway.

Nonetheless, after a long day of work and dealing with people, Elsa needed her alone time. Needed wasn't a strong enough word and alone wasn't exactly the right word to use either. Alone time for Elsa may or may not include Anna. On this particular night, however, it did not. Anna had already gone to bed. If Anna was present, the fire would be too because the cold definitely bothered her and on this night it was definitely cold. Too cold for this time of year in fact. So the fireplace lay dormant as extra precaution to keep anyone else away.

Elsa shifted her eyes from her desk to the window. Outside held the explanation to the unusually chilly temperature. An early winter storm was raging on just on the other side of the glass. This was the twenty-eighth time she stopped to look out that window. Elsa was keeping track. During her alone time, Elsa usually liked to either read or finish up on paper work from the day. Running a kingdom was in no way easy or without headache, but Elsa found getting herself engrossed in her work, _alone_ , had a calming effect.

Tonight was different though. For one, her "work" consisted of going over marriage proposals. Marriage proposals were the one thing Elsa loathed working on. The thought of marriage was ridiculous to Elsa. Fear was the reason of course. Fear of physical contact with anyone. Elsa may not have isolated herself off from people anymore, but that didn't mean she had to touch them. Beyond brief touches and greetings, only Anna could sustain physical contact with Elsa without causing the young Queen to start losing control of her powers.

Fear of her powers. That's what it really boiled down to. That was the other reason Elsa couldn't concentrate on the work at hand. This was the first winter storm in Arendelle since the eternal winter and it was the coldest it had been since then as well. Elsa had to keep checking to make sure it wasn't her causing the frigid air in the room. Maybe she should have had the fireplace going after all.

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Why had she chosen this night to go over these marriage proposals? She wished Anna was here. Anna made a point, multiple times throughout the day, to make sure this storm wasn't playing with Elsa's emotions. Elsa assured her that it wasn't, until now of course when Anna wasn't around. Elsa looked back down at the marriage proposals and with another sigh got back to work.

* * *

An hour had passed by. Elsa had stopped working four more times to check the storm outside. However, for the last half-hour Elsa hadn't stopped once. She was finally powering through the remaining marriage proposals without any distractions. It was a shame she still wouldn't be able to finish them all tonight. It was too late as it was. Elsa was reading over one proposal from one of the local noble families when a gust of wind had rattled the window, causing her to stop reading mid-sentence. The wind was rattling the window here and there all night, it was really nothing out of the ordinary. Yet something just didn't feel right.

Elsa put the paper down and got up from her desk with a sigh. _Thirty three_. The window rattled again on her way over to it. She stopped moving. There was a funny feeling developing in the pit of her stomach. A sudden shiver ran down her spine as the wind rattled the window again with more force. Elsa rushed over to the window and leaned up to the glass. Her eyes narrowed as she stared out into the blizzard. Something was wrong. She didn't know what, but she knew there was something wrong. She could feel it…then it clicked. The storm was gaining strength which didn't make sense because not twenty minutes ago the storm appeared to be reaching its end. Of course, only Elsa could know this. It was an instinct that came with having powers over winter.

No, this storm was building back up. Unnaturally. Elsa gulped, this would not be the first time she unknowingly set off a winter storm. But that was impossible. She had better control, she wasn't trying to bottle them up anymore, and there wasn't anything causing her that much distress. No, this wasn't her doing. IT couldn't be.

Elsa placed her palms on the chilled glass. If it wasn't her then what else could it be? The trolls were the only other source of magic Elsa could think of. They never bothered anyone though nor had any reason too, it couldn't be them. That left only one option in Elsa's mind.

"No that's impossible," Elsa whispered to herself taking a step back from the window out of reflex. Surely there wasn't anyone else cursed with powers like her own. Or could there be? She had to go check this out herself.

Turning from the window, Elsa hitched up her dress and ran out of her study without bothering with any second thoughts. It was a miracle that she managed to avoid any servants or guards on the way down to the main hall.

 _Good,_ _I don't want anyone else getting hurt_ _especially_ …

She never got a chance to finish her thoughts as she made it within arm's reach of the front doors.

"Elsa what's going on?" Anna called out from behind, her breathing hitched from running. Elsa cringed. _Why must she be so observant?_ Elsa couldn't imagine anyone else picking up on the unnatural state of the storm outside.

"Are you okay? Are you having another episode? Remember what we talked about. I'm right here for you, Elsa," Anna said. She wrapped her arms around Elsa to make her point.

"Anna this isn't me,"Elsa admitted causing Anna to look up suddenly.

"Wait what? Then what's going on? Elsa?" Anna questioned.

"Just stay here, Anna please," Elsa said as she moved from their embrace and towards the front doors. She yanked them open and stepped into the howling storm. The courtyard was barren, the guards forced to take shelter inside the castle walls. Snow drifts marked every corner of the castle grounds and she could barely make out the walls on the other side. Sleet and snow pelted her face. It almost bothered her. Almost. There was nothing else unusual here. She had to get a better look at this storm, maybe a view out over the fjord. She moved across the courtyard to the gate.

"ELSA!" She heard the yell coming from behind her. Stumbling out of the castle came Anna in just her nightgown, boots, and an oversized winter jacket borrowed from one the servants. She may have stumbled out, but Elsa could tell by her sisters movement that she was more than determined to stay by Elsa's side.

Elsa attempted to scream over the howling winds. "ANNA GET BACK INSIDE!"

She saw Anna open her mouth in response, but a large crash silenced her. Elsa spun around just in time to see the main gates burst open. Elsa was speechless. Anna quickly covered the distance between the two and stepped beside Elsa, her face expressed only confusion. Neither sister noticed the sudden calmness of the storm around them. They were too busy watching the contained blizzard that was now slowly entering the castle grounds through the former gate.

"Elsa w-what's happening?" muttered Anna as she grabbed Elsa's arm. Elsa got knocked out of her shock by the contact and Anna's worried voice. She stepped in front of Anna and mentally prepared to face whatever stepped out of that blizzard. _I must defend Anna, defend Anna, keep your sister safe_. Frost gathered at her fingertips.

She was wholly unprepared for what appeared when the storm subsided.

Elsa's eyes widened in a mix of shock and confusion as she stood face to face with…herself? The intruder that stood before them was an almost exact copy of Elsa. Her skin tone, her eyes, the light dusting of freckles across her nose, her body, everything matched Elsa's with one huge exception. That hair. The intruder had her jet black hair cut short in the front with bangs that covered her forehead. The ends were spiked up in the back forming a peak. It reminded Elsa of a duck tail. Or maybe it looked more like the top of an onion? And then there was that sly grin. Elsa couldn't imagine ever making such a face.

Elsa continued staring ahead blankly, body motionless, as her mind went over what she was seeing in front of her. She could faintly hear stuttering coming from her right. "She looks just like you," Anna finally managed to get out in a whisper. The intruder continued staring at the pair, eyebrow arched. It felt like an eternity passed by when finally Elsa attempted to say something, anything to break the uncomfortable silence.

Before she got a chance the intruder spoke first. "So I take it you are my sister. Elsa, was it?"

_She even sounds like me._

The two stunned sisters blinked and spoke in unison, "Sister?" The intruder walked forward, her grin faltering for less than a second, too fast for neither the Queen nor Princess to notice.

"So you didn't know? Well then let me introduce myself. I am Elise. Your twin sister," the intruder, Elise, declaimed. She now stood directly in front of Elsa.

"Twin? You are mistaken, I don't have a twin sister." Elsa found it hard to believe what she was saying with this Elise standing in front of her. A stray thought suddenly entered her mind making her eyes go wide.

"Oh no, did I accidentally make you too?" Elsa stared down at her hands. She could feel her control slipping as panic took over. _Oh God, now I'm making evil copies of myself._

Fully aware of what was happening, Anna pressed up against her sister and grabbed her hand squeezing tight. Elsa let the warmth of Anna's contact flood through her and just like that regained control. She lifted her head, returning her gaze back forward.

Elise did not miss the exchange in front of her. "No, I'm afraid I am not one of your creations. That does clear up some things I've wondered though," Elise said.

Elise then turned her head to face Anna. "And who is this, your royal concubine?"

Elsa wasn't sure whether to feel embarrassed or angry. She still couldn't help blushing either way. She caught Anna's face turning red, her eyes glaring at Elise. "Ahem, I'm actually her _real_ sister," Anna sneered. Elsa hadn't heard her speak like that since the coronation incident. Elise's face remained unchanged for a moment, possibly trying to process this new information.

"Oh you were probably adopted then."

Anna stepped forward. Elsa didn't think Anna's face couldn't get any redder. She had to intervene fast. "Adopted? Who the-"

"Anna was not adopted," Elsa interrupted, finally finding the strength to speak up. She said it in her most authoritarian voice and she straightened up her posture to help convey her authority. "Are you even aware of what your 'parents' look like?" Elsa added.

"So the hair is part of the magic then? I had a feeling it was," Elise answered. "Though I am curious how we both ended up with our own shades." Elise started forward toward Anna. Anna tried backing away, but Elise quickly reached her.

"I've always known I had an identical twin sister," she said to no one in particular. "I didn't imagine I'd have another sister, certainly not one as beautiful as you," all the while cupping Anna's face gently with her hands. Elise walked around Anna looking her up and down and running her hand across her shoulder. Anna just stood still, too stunned to react. Elsa didn't know what to do. She felt a mix of emotions storming around in head; anger, confusion, disgust, fear, jealousy. Jealousy? No, that wasn't right.

 _Look what she is doing to your Anna, do something you coward._ Elsa cleared her head. It was time to get to work, she was the Queen and this was her Kingdom, her castle. Elsa took a deep breath.

"What is it that you want?" the Queen demanded, trying to keep her composure steady. She was hoping against hope her nerves wouldn't betray her authority. The slight smirk from Elise confirmed her fears though. "I'm starting to have doubts you came here with friendly intentions." Elsa narrowed her eyes at her twin who was now walking away from the stunned Anna and started to circle Elsa, a predatory look in her eyes.

Elise laughed, "You seem to know me quite well dear sister. Let me just get to the point. I am here for _my_ throne."

Elsa couldn't help but smile at the ridicules notion, yet her fingers were fidgeting at her side. "Your what?"Elise continued circling; Elsa's smile faltered. "You cannot be serious. I am Arendelle's rightful Queen, I was the crown princess. Not you. I don't even know you. Nobody knows you. Where did you even come from?"

Elise stopped between the pair and the wrecked gate and sighed. She turned away from the pair of sisters. Elsa couldn't see her face, but she imagined that stupid smirk of hers was gone. She just stood there, her back to the two, breathing heavily. Elsa took the opportunity to look over to Anna who was now surveying the courtyard. When Anna returned Elsa's gaze, Elsa tried to give the girl a look of reassurance, but she was instead met with worried turquoise eyes.

"There's nobody else here. I think the storm is keeping them out," Anna whispered referring to the guards who should have been out here by now.

Elsa forgot about the storm, not even noticing it had stopped. She looked around her. All she could see was a perimeter of calmness surrounded by a thick wall of howling wind and snow. The perimeter centered directly on her twin. Her twin who was now muttering to herself, her hands balled up at face level.

"Elise?" Elsa took a step forward, hand reaching out. Elsa paused when Elise brought her hands down suddenly.

And with that Elise struck. Elsa dodged out-of-the-way as the ice spike shot out of the ground and missed her by a hairs length, so close it sliced through the fabric of her jacket. She wasn't exactly sure how she knew that was coming, but she just did. There was no time to dwell on it though. Elise launched several more ice spikes out of the ground in Elsa's direction. Elsa managed to dodge each one. Something clicked in her mind. An instinct took over her, one she hadn't felt since being attacked up in her ice palace on the North Mountain. Elise switched tactics, sending a blast of magic towards Elsa. Elsa threw up a wall of ice to block it, side-stepped out from its cover and launched ice spikes of her own out of the ground at the other ice sorceress. Elsa cringed at her own work, it was the same design she had accidentally shot at her coronation – a jagged wall of icicles. Her ice stopped before it could reach Elise, intercepted by a lattice-work of Elise's own. It was an impressive sight. Elsa again went on the offensive shooting blasts of magic as fast as she could at her aggressive twin. Elise blocked each one with an amused smirk as if it was too easy.

When Elsa paused to catch her breath, Elise went on the attack. She flung spears of ice in Elsa's direction. Elsa threw up a barrier of ice, but the spears pierced it stopping mere inches from Elsa's body. All the while Elise conjured up a powerful swirling wind. Hail of multiple sizes and jagged pieces of ice formed within it. Finally, Elise launched the swirling hailstorm at Elsa. Elsa had backed away from her earlier barrier when the hailstorm struck. It shattered the broken wall of ice without pausing.

Elsa dropped into a crouch and quickly formed a dome around her. The hailstorm kept its pace and began to batter the dome from all sides, cracking it and forcing it to shrink. Elsa let her powers flow out into the dome in response, trying to keep it from collapsing or shattering. Elsa was holding her breath, fear tugging at her mind as she felt the dome shrinking from the relentless assault. She was pouring all her might into that dome, yet it only kept shrinking. Something finally snapped within her…Elsa had enough of this! With a yell coming from deep inside her, she sprung up off the ground, shattering the dome out. The burst of power didn't stop there, the shockwave ripped through the hailstorm causing the air around her to still and the pieces of hail to either fly out or vaporize.

Elsa glared in Elise's direction, but didn't have the time to register the emotions her twin's face was expressing. More ice spikes and jagged walls of ice sprung out of the ground at her. Elsa dodged or blocked them with relative ease. This was a lot easier than what she had just went though, her confidence was soaring. _Is that all you got ice bitch._ Ice bitch? Where did that come from, Elsa wondered to herself. It didn't matter, Elsa was doing well.

It took Elsa too long to realize what Elise was really up to. She was herding her into a trap. Elsa panicked when the realization suddenly crossed her mind, all former confidence in her dueling ability lost. The Queen reflexively stomped her foot on the ground creating a pillar of ice that shot her up to safety just mere moments before Elise could finish her off. Jagged ice caught the bottom of the Queens's dress tearing part of it to shreds. _That was too close, though at least it'd be easier to move in._

Elsa felt the ice fall out from under her in a deafening shatter that collapsed the ice pillar. Elsa's eyes snapped shut and she screamed in terror. She tried bracing herself for impact with the hard spiky ground, but instead landed in a rather soft pile of snow. Just like in her ice palace, Elsa's body saved itself before her mind could even register what had happened.

She quickly got back up and looked for her attacker. Elise was stomping towards her, an agitated scowl covered her face. A commotion coming from the castle caught both of their attention. Elsa turned to see guards rushing out of the weakened storm-barrier towards their Queen, weapons drawn. Elise turned too, throwing up a wall of ice separating the guards from the twins. Elsa took the opportunity to check out her surroundings. Ice spikes littered the courtyard as did ice barriers imbedded with crossbow bolts.

 _But where was Anna?_ Elsa started panicking. Her sister couldn't be seen anywhere. "Oh no," Elsa whispered to herself.

A blue flash brought her head back to the current battle. Elsa threw up her hands as a blast of ice shot towards her. Elsa barely managed to send a blast of her own to intercept it. The two bolts of magic collided a few feet in front of Elsa. The resulting shockwave sent Elsa flying back with tiny ice shards slicing at her skin and clothes. She stumbled back up, but never reached full height before a gust of wind flew her back up against the castle wall behind her. Ice covered her feet and hands, pinning her to the wall behind her. Elsa opened her eyes and found she was otherwise unhurt, though a razor-sharp piece of ice hovered menacingly in front of her throat. Elsa looked up just in time to see Elise stop directly in front of her. The agitated scowl on Elise's face had become furious with her clenched fists glowing icy blue. Elsa clenched her eyes shut in fear when Elise started to speak through gritted teeth.

"Enough playing around, Elsa. This ends-"

**Thunk!**

Elsa opened her right eye slowly as she felt the ice pinning her disappear. Her eyes snapped open when she noticed Anna standing in front of her, face stricken in fear, lute held at the ready, and Elise's unconscious body sprawled at her feet. Elsa tried opening her mouth to form words, but felt a wave of fatigue surge through her instead. The blonde felt herself slide down the wall behind her with heavy breaths. The last thing she felt before falling into unconsciousness was Anna's warm embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for those who helped making this chapter come to be, especially Mig.


	3. Reunion

The midday sun shined through the window of Elsa's study as she went over the events of the morning.

Elsa had woken up early, finding herself dressed in her nightgown in her bed next to Anna with all her cuts and scrapes cleaned up and bandaged. She didn't remember how she got there, but she certainly remembered the events that led up to it. Elsa had gotten out of bed early, leaving Anna undisturbed, to go deal with the aftermath of last night. Kai had informed her that her unconscious twin was taken to the dungeon after the fight and cleanup of the courtyard had started immediately. Elsa was more grateful that Kai, on his own accord, had made sure word of last night's encounter didn't leave the castle walls until Elsa was able to decide for herself. Elsa had spent the next few hours making sure the knowledge of Elise and her arrival last night never left the castle. It turned out easier than expected. The wreckage had been removed by the guards before the rest of Arendelle could take notice. The cover story for the missing gate was that it had been damaged during the storm and immediately removed to make room for a new one. The castle staff had been minimal during the night and they were on strict orders to keep their lips sealed. The guards had been more numerous, but their loyalty to the crown would keep them silent. Most importantly, no one had been killed or wounded. Still, Elsa knew word would eventually leak. This would at least give her some time to think.

Elsa couldn't stop thinking about what had happened last night, the existence of Elise more than anything else. As soon as she finished making sure her new secret stayed safe, Elsa rushed off to her deceased parent's room, which Elsa had ordered left alone three years earlier. For the rest of the morning she went through every journal and record looking for any information on Elise. When her parent's room turned up nothing, Elsa turned to the castle records for information. When that turned up nothing, Elsa gave up and returned to her study to finally eat. Around the same time, Anna had woken up and made her way straight to Elsa. Without exchanging any words, she rested her head on Elsa's lap and fell back asleep leaving Elsa pinned to the couch. Elsa had just finished up eating and planned on getting back to her daily work, however, she chose to stay where she was, running her hand through Anna's strawberry hair. She decided her work could wait at least for the next twenty minutes or so.

That brought her back to present. Elsa glanced down at the sleeping girl in her lap and smiled. Kai had told her how the battle had gone down outside Elsa's point of view. The guards managed to get through the storm barrier and even got a few crossbow bolts off at Elise, though she blocked them like it was nothing. Anna had the sense to get away from the dueling sorceresses and made her way over to the stables, grabbed one of Kristoff's lutes, and ran back to the battle just in time to catch Elise off guard. Speaking of Elise, it was time her and Anna talked about this. She didn't think she could figure it out alone, fortunately she wasn't alone.

Elsa gently shook her sleeping sister. "It's time to get up, sleepyhead."

"Five more minutes please," Anna mumbled below her.

"No Anna, we have to discuss what happened."

Anna finally opened her eyes and let out a sigh. "I know Elsa it's just that," Anna paused. "I want things to go back to the way they were. I mean, I finally get you back and then she shows up." Anna lifted her head off Elsa's lap and sat up straight, meeting Elsa's gaze. "I want her to go away and pretend this whole thing never happened."

"Well good morning to you too," Elsa said with a smile. The smile faded with what Elsa was going to say next. "But Anna you know we can't do that-"

"Well why not?" interrupted Anna. "She tried to kill you, she could have killed me. You heard what she was saying, Elsa. She wanted to take your throne. She's no better than _Hans_ ," Anna argued, the last word coming out with utter disgust in her voice.

Elsa turned her gaze away, Anna was right she knew. Yet something inside her disagreed with what Anna was saying. It was telling her to give Elise a chance, but why Elsa was not sure.

"I think…maybe…we should hear her out first," Elsa let the words sink in before continuing. "I mean, Anna, she is still our sister, she is family after all."

Anna stood up as soon as the word 'family' left Elsa's mouth. "That thing is not my family, Elsa!" Anna yelled. "You are my family, Olaf is my family, even Kai and Gerda are my family, but that thing down there in the dungeon is not my family!" Anna turned around crossing her arms across her chest in defiance. Elsa could tell she had struck a nerve with Anna.

Elsa was standing now too. "That 'thing' is my twin sister and her name is Elise," Elsa yelled. Her hands shot up to cover her mouth as Anna gasped. Where had that come from? Elsa had not meant to say that. Anna had turned around and was staring at her, wide-eyed with confusion.

Elsa looked down and started fiddling with her hands. "Look Anna, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, it's just that…I don't know, maybe she just reminds me of myself." Elsa paused and looked to Anna. Anna didn't say anything, giving Elsa the cue to continue her explanation. "Every time I close my eyes and think about her," Elsa closed her eyes, "I can picture her and I see the hurt in her eyes. The same hurt that I used to see in my own reflection." Elsa opened her eyes again. She could see in Anna eyes that concern was replacing anger.

"I just have this feeling that this isn't the real her," Elsa continued, "that she's just a confused and hurt young woman and doesn't know what to do. Just like I was, except in my case I had someone who was there for me." This finally brought a smile to Anna's face. "As far as I can tell, Elise has no one. Do you understand Anna? Elise is my sister and it is my responsibility to help her," Elsa finished as she moved forward and took Anna's hands in her own.

"I understand Elsa, but I still don't trust her," Anna answered. She was staring at Elsa's face now. Not her face, Elsa knew, but the small cuts from last night that marred it. "So what are we doing to do now?"

"First we have to talk to her as soon as she wakes up. In the meantime, I have some work to get done. You're welcome to say here of course." Elsa smiled at her sister. "You always are." She pulled Anna into a hug. "Oh and I'll have Gerda bring up some food for you."

The two finally separated and Elsa went to her desk. It was still covered in the marriage proposals from last night plus a few newer items. On top sat an hour old request from the Royal Guard asking to replace their aging arsenal of flintlocks with percussion cap firearms. It didn't come as a surprise to Elsa that the guards wanted weapons other than crossbows that would work in snowy conditions now that another ice sorceress resided in the castle. She just hoped her dwindling treasury could afford it.

Anna had dropped back down to the couch and started going over the events of last night from her point of view making sure to cover every detail. Elsa listened intently as she got to work

* * *

A few hours had passed by. Anna had since finished her entire retelling of the previous night, ate lunch, gone to freshen up and change, and returned to Elsa's study. She now lay silent on the couch reading _The Prince_. As unusual as it was, Elsa was at least happy Anna was finally taking an interest in topics related to ruling a kingdom, though Elsa really wasn't sure if Anna was actually reading it or just pretending to. As it turned out, Elsa couldn't afford to arm the Royal Guard with better weapons. Arendelle was going broke as a result of the Great Freeze. It turned out Elsa's eternal winter had a devastating impact on Arendelle's food supply, forcing Elsa to purchase food from foreign sources at steep prices so her people could survive through winter. Then there were the other damages that resulted from her storm that Elsa felt responsible to pay for.

It was a shame because her military forces had been so neglected during her father's rule. By going over the numbers from King Agdar's rule following his death, Elsa had concluded that her father solely cared for nothing more than her and Anna's safety. Safety from internal threats that is. Taxes were kept low and the King spent the entire treasury on making sure the people were happy and well fed. That and keeping her powers a secret, Elsa had to remind herself. It all came at the cost of foreign relations and Arendelle's military power, though it did also result in a very effective secret police, one of the best in Europe in fact. Her father knew what revolutions could do to royalty and Elsa's powers added many complications, so King Agdar did what he had to do to protect her and Anna even at the cost of Arendelle's prestige. What baffled Elsa was why her father neglected defending againt external threats. She suspected that he was relying on Arendelle's relationship with Corona for protection, but that didn't stop her from theorizing about the other possibility. The possibility that Elsa's father was planning to use her as a weapon.

Elsa huffed and shook her head. She was letting herself get side tracked. The past was in the past, there was not point dwelling on it not when things had to get done in the present-

_Knock! Knock!_

"Enter," Elsa responded.

"Your majesty," Kai said opening the door. "She's awake."

Elsa and Anna both stood up and looked towards each other. It was time.

* * *

Anna and Elsa made their way to the dungeons as fast as possible. They paused outside the cell doors.

"Anna let me do the talking," Elsa said to her sister.

"Fine, but Elsa I've been wondering, what exactly is keeping her from escaping?" Anna asked. "This place didn't hold the last magical person."

Elsa winced. She was bound to find out eventually anyway. "I…I made improvements to the cell. Just as a precaution you know."

Anna's eyes narrowed at what Elsa had just implied, causing Elsa to shrink back. "Oh my God Elsa, what is wrong with-"

"Enough Anna, this is neither the time nor place," Elsa cut off. Elsa straightened her posture, donned her regal mask, and turned to the guards. "Open the door then leave us."

"As you wish, your majesty," the guard replied and opened the door to the cell.

Elsa entered with as much bearing as she could, but her nerves got the best of her and she swallowed as she stepped through the threshold.

_You can do this Elsa. Anna will be by your side the whole time._

The cell doors closed behind them as Anna made her way in following Elsa. Elsa spotted Elise in the far corner sitting on a cot facing the wall. Her hands and feet were clad in the improved manacles. For the first time, Elsa noticed her twins clothing. She was wearing an ice dress. This shouldn't have been a surprise to Elsa and yet it still was. It was a beautiful dress though, the way it transitioned from a darker shade of blue near the top to a lighter shade near the bottom. Not only did the colors transition, but the transparency did as well. The top was solid, but below the waist the ice fabric started gaining transparency until it was completely see-through at the hem. It was a simple dress overall though, sleeveless, high-necked, and finished with a deep blue ice sash across her waist. Elsa thought back to last night, it also had a familiar snowflake design on the front she remembered. Elsa then took notice of the ice tiara on top of her head. _How did I miss that last night?_

_Ahem!_

The sound coming from Anna caught Elsa's attention. Elsa had gotten lost staring at Elise who still hadn't acknowledged her visitors. Time to get started.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Elsa demanded. No response. "I demand an answer from you." Still nothing. It was time to switch tactics.

Elsa dropped her regal bearing and stepped towards her twin. "Elise we're here for you. We're your sisters and we're going to fix this together," Elsa said. With this, Elise finally turned around. It was worse than Elsa thought. This woman was in pain, her eyes pleaded for help. Elsa wondered if this was what she looked like to Anna when Anna tried to bring her down from the North Mountain.

"What do you want?" Elise asked, her voice strained. "Can't you just leave me alone."

"Oh no, you don't barge into our castle and tell us to leave you alone," Anna spoke up stepping to Elsa's side. "You need to explain yourself right now." Anna stomped her foot down while pointing to the ground with her hand.

"Listen Elise, I just want to talk. I have so many questions for you," Elsa said as she moved to sit next to her twin. Elise turned away, so Elsa placed her hand on her shoulder. Elise jerked away from the contact.

"What do you want to know?" Elise said with obvious annoyance.

"Well to start where have you been all these years?" Elsa asked.

"You truly didn't know, did you?" Elise asked back, countering Elsa's question with her own.

"I'm sorry Elise, not a single person knew. I checked all the records I could. There isn't a trace of your existence..." Elsa trailed off. That probably wasn't the best word choice.

"Well I knew. I was told when I was little I had an identical twin. I asked why we were separated, but my adopted parents never told me." Elise sighed. This was a good sign; at least she hadn't been alone.

"I'm sorry to bring this up now Elise, but I think you should know that your real parents are dead. They were lost at sea a few years ago." Elsa said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I already knew."

"Oh, so how did you finally find me then?" Elsa asked, her mood brightening as the conversation moved from the topic of her parents.

Elise chuckled. "It wasn't hard. One day I find out the newly crowned Queen of Arendelle froze over her own kingdom. I put two and two together."

Elsa's cheeks turned pink. "Oh, right of course. Anyway back to the original question, where have you been all these years, Elise?"

"The North Pole."

"What?" Both Anna and Elsa exclaimed. "Who the heck would live up there?" asked Anna.

"Me, stupid, pay attention," said Elise, shooting a glare at Anna. Anna glared right back. Elsa chose to ignore the exchange.

"So you and your-" Elsa started to ask.

"No, it was just me up there. I went there after my parents…" Elise trailed off. "I'd rather not talk about that right now actually." Elise stopped talking. Maybe this wasn't a good sign after all.

Elsa felt her heart clench for the poor girl. "How long? Elsa whispered.

"Since I was about eight."

Elsa felt like her heart dropped into her stomach. _Oh my God, she's been isolated just as long as me._ In that moment, Elsa couldn't tell which of them had it worse. She felt like crying for her sister. Elise just continued staring blankly over Elsa's shoulder. Elsa felt tears forming in her eyes which were going to escape if something didn't happen soon.

They sat there for a moment before Anna finally broke the silence. "If you were really up in the North Pole, how did you find out about Elsa's coronation?" Anna narrowed her eyes, unconvinced by Elise's sob story.

"You stupid girl, do you think I just sat up there twiddling my thumbs?" Elise stood straight up, her eyes practically shooting icicles at the youngest of the three.

"Exc-" Anna started.

"Shut up," Elise interrupted, her voice rising. "I learned how to control my powers up there unlike you," she looked down to give a smug smirk to Elsa then turned back to Anna. "I learned how to master them, to create life even," Elise paused to marvel at her covered hands. "Creatures of ice and snow to follow my every command, to hunt for me, to fish for me, to fight for me, even to spy for me. That is how I found about your little accident," again she directed her eyes to Elsa.

As shocked and a little insulted as she was by Elise's sudden outburst, Elsa had to admit she was a little impressed.

Anna was not however. "Seems like you had a good thing going up there, too bad you didn't stay." Elsa cringed. What had gotten into her little sister, this wasn't like her at all.

"There isn't much to running a barren wasteland, plus snow creatures aren't the brightest things in the world. A lot like you actually," Elise retorted. She was smiling triumphantly at Anna's building frustration. "When I found out I was twin to the crown of an actual kingdom, I couldn't skip out on the opportunity to finally rule for real."

"You aren't even half the Queen Elsa is you…you bitch!" Anna yelled back with a stomp of her heel onto the floor and clenched fists. Elsa noticed her face twisted in pure hatred. Elsa could tell Anna really, really, didn't like Elise. Maybe bringing her wasn't the best idea.

"Enough both of you," Elsa raised her voice and stood up to intervene. Elsa had redonned her regal mask without even a second thought. "Elise, I don't believe you." Anna smugly smiled. "I don't believe you really came here to oust me from my throne." Anna's smiled faded into a frown.

"You don't know that. You don't even know me," Elise said turning from both sisters now.

"But I want to Elise. You're my sister. You're my family," Elsa said dropping her regal bearing again. Elise dropped her head towards the floor with a huff. "I don't know why we were separated, but that was in the past," Elsa continued. "All that matters now is that you are here and we are together. Right?"

Elise didn't answer. She continued staring at the ground, her back to the other two and her breathing shallow. It seemed like an eternity passed by between them, but it was only a few seconds.

"So is your head feeling okay? Anna is very skilled with a lute you know," Elsa asked with a light chuckle to break the tension. Elsa turned her head to give Anna a reassuring smile. Anna responded with a frown. She was acting very uncharacteristically indeed.

"It's fine," Elise answered quickly.

"I bet you are starving. Are you hungry?" Elsa continued her questioning.

"Yes."

"What would you like?"

"I don't care." Elise wasn't even pausing to think. She was giving answers as soon Elsa finished her questions.

"Are you comfortable?" Elsa immediately regretted asking that. _Stupid Elsa, of course she's not comfortable, she's locked up in cell with her hands and feet bound and has to rely on complete strangers to feed her._

"Ugh," Elise groaned and tried bringing her hands to her face. She must've forgotten about the manacles until they had already slammed into her face.

_Whack!_

"Ow!" Elise cried out. Elsa and Anna both winced.

"Oh my God Elise, are you okay?" Elsa was by her side immediately. She grabbed Elise's shoulder and turned her to face Elsa. Elise had dropped her head back to the ground and let her limbs go limp before Elsa reached her. When Elise showed no signs of resistance, Elsa slowly moved her hand to Elise's face and gently tilted it to face Elsa's own. Thankfully her face looked unscathed, but her expression was blank. Elsa gazed longingly into her eyes, never even bothering to drop her hand. Eventually those icy blue eyes focused and gazed right back at Elsa. A smile formed on Elsa's face, replacing the concern that was there before while Elsa repositioned her hand to cup Elise's right cheek. Elise's eyes never moved, but her face lightly twitched in a struggle to keep the corners of her mouth from dropping any farther.

"Elsa?" Anna whispered in the background. Her voice was a mixture of annoyance and concern.

Elise broke contact at the sound of Anna's voice. She closed her eyes and exhaled the breath she'd been holding. "I'm fine," she said turning her face away from Elsa before opening her eyes again.

Elsa wasn't sure, but she might have seen tears starting to form in Elise's eyes before she had turned away. Elsa just stood there with her hand now clenched against her chest still gazing at Elise. Her smile had made way for concern again.

"Elsa?" Anna repeated.

Elsa decided it was enough question for now. She averted her gaze from Elise and turned to face Anna when Elise spoke up again.

"Are you going to let me out of these at least?"

Elsa was glad she was no longer facing Elise. She finished turning to face Anna who was looking at her with a questioning raised eyebrow. _I know what that means._

"I…we'll..." Elsa was suddenly lost for words. "Anna and I will have to discuss it. I'm sorry," Elsa finally found her words, but they came out pained. She turned to face Elise again who had moved back to sitting facing the wall on her cot. "In the meantime I'll have food sent down to you and I'll make sure the servants take good care of you," Elsa continued. "If you need anything, make sure to ask the guards."

Elsa paused for some kind of response while watching her twin from the back. Elsa continued when she got none. "I'll have to get back to you about the restraints. We're going to go now, but I'll be back to talk to you." _Alone_ Elsa added in her mind, her eyes darting to Anna on her left. "We'll fix this. I swear it. Goodbye Elise."

Elise made no response as Elsa turned around to leave. The guards opened the cell door and let her and Anna out. Anna followed Elsa's footsteps until they left the dungeon. When they stepped out, Anna moved up to Elsa's side.

"No Elsa," Anna said.

"No what, Anna?" Elsa didn't try to hide the fact she was mildly annoyed with her younger sister's actions.

"No, you're not letting her out of those restraints." Anna got to the point and stopped walking.

Elsa kept moving. "You don't make the decisions around here, _Princess_ Anna." Elsa's bottled up annoyance with Anna from the visit with Elise was finally coming out.

"What happened to 'working this out together'?" Anna cried. Elsa stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath. Anna was right. She knew Anna was right. But…

Elsa turned around to face Anna, the anger she was feeling toward Anna had disappeared. Anna was right.

"Why?" It came out of Elsa as a pained whimper.

"She's dangerous, Elsa. You saw her in there, she's practically insane. She can't be trusted," Anna explained as she moved towards Elsa. "I know you think you two went through similar situations, but you're wrong." Anna was no idiot. "She's been isolated from everyone, literally, Elsa. She had nobody." Anna briefly paused when she reached Elsa. Elsa wouldn't meet Anna's gaze. She couldn't, she knew Anna was right. "I don't think she even understands the difference between right and wrong. It's not like there was anyone around to teach her and who knows what her child life was like before being isolated."

"Well we should at least be there to teach her then," Elsa pleaded, keeping her voice low and still refusing to look at Anna.

"Elsa look at me." When Elsa didn't respond Anna grabbed Elsa's head and forced her to look at her. "What has gotten into you?" Anna knitted her brows as she thought. "You've been acting so strange around her and here you are feeling sorry for her not even twenty-four hours after she tried killing you. If I wasn't there last night you'd be dead right now, do you understand that Elsa?"

Before Elsa could open her mouth to form a response Anna continued on. "It's like she put some kind of spell on you or something Elsa. Do you know how long you were standing there gazing into her eyes like she was your lover or something?" Elsa flushed. "It was creeping me out." Anna's eyes widen with a sudden thought. "Oh my gosh Elsa, she must've put a spell on you. We have to take you to the trolls right away."

"Wait Anna," Elsa tried interrupting, but Anna grabbed her hand and tried dragging her down the hall.

"I bet she isn't even your sister, it's all an illusion to trick us."

"Anna wait."

"I figured it all out. I can see through your tricks now witch. We are-"

"Anna?"

"…going to-"

"Anna?"

"…get you-"

"ANNA!" Elsa finally got through to her younger sister. Anna stopped pulling and let go of Elsa's hand while lowering her head and shrinking away.

"Anna you're being ridiculous. I am not under any spells, I am not going anywhere, and Elise is _our_ real sister," Elsa scolded Anna. Anna was looking down at her hands. Unfortunately, Elsa knew what was going to happen next.

Anna looked back up at Elsa, her bottom lip out in a pout, her eyes wide, and her head slightly tiled to the side.

"Please Elsa," she pleaded with her hands. "Just please listen to me and keep her in those restraints until we can be absolutely sure she is no longer a threat." Anna finished her plea by wrapping her arms around Elsa's neck, pulling her down slightly so that Anna could press their foreheads together. Her eyes focused in on the small cuts on Elsa's face again. "I can't afford to lose you," Anna whispered while a few tears escaped down her cheeks.

Realization dawned on Elsa in that moment. She finally realized how horrible it must've been for Anna right now. For the second time in only a few months, Anna had come within moments of losing her forever and here Elsa was defending the person who tried doing it, all because of a stupid feeling. _Oh God Anna, I'm so sorry I'm such a horrible sister. I've forgiven her for what she's done to me because I feel sorry for her, but I've ignored what she's done to you. I can't forgive her for what she put you though._

Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna and squeezed tight producing a squeak out of her little sister. "Anna I'm sorry. I have no right to defend her after what she's put you through. She's going to remain locked up in those restrains until we're both sure she is no longer a threat." Elsa paused. "But I'm still going to try helping her." Elsa glanced at a nearby clock as she wiped the tears from Anna's face. "Right now though I have a meeting to catch."

"Thanks Els," Anna said as the two let go. "I'll see you at dinner right?"

"Of course," Elsa answered.

After parting ways with Anna, Elsa went straight to Gerda to relay her orders about Elise. From there, Elsa had to head straight to a meeting with her council that lasted the rest of the afternoon. They all knew about the incident, but Elsa was in no mood to discuss Elise with them at present. There were also pre-determined matters that had needed their attention that would take the entire meeting. Elsa assured the council that she would discuss the matter in full detail at tomorrow's meeting.

As soon as the meeting ended, Elsa was off to dinner with Anna. She was at least happy to see her again. Anna had told her what she was up to in the few hours they were separated and Elsa gave her some minor details about the meeting, but for the most part they ate in silence. When they finished, Elsa regrettably informed Anna that she was going to be preoccupied for most of the night and that she probably wouldn't see her until morning. Anna reluctantly agreed and they parted ways once again after saying their good nights.

Elsa didn't like doing it to her, but she had to get to work. Elsa took off with Kai in tow, first to her parent's room, then to her study, and finally ending up in the library. She breathed a sigh of relief when Anna wasn't there. She and Kai had grabbed every book, journal, and record she thought was relevant that would give her some kind of information about Elise. Most of the obvious records she had already gone over that morning, but she had to double-check just to make sure. She also had to go every detail to see if she could fit together pieces of this puzzle. She dismissed Kai, who had unsuccessfully insisted on helping, and got to work.

* * *

Elsa had spent hours going over the information. She had found nothing and instead rewarded with a migraine. The only thing she discovered was that the doctor and midwife who were present at her birth had both vanished from Arendelle not long after her birth. It was something at least, but she would have to inquire into their disappearance using other resources that weren't present in the castle. Elsa reached her door and opened it with a yawn. Using the moonlight that shone through the window, she dragged her feet over to her dresser and sluggishly changed into her nightgown.

She stopped at the foot of her bed when she noticed the mop of red hair that lay within it.

"You coming to bed or not?" Anna's voice rose from the bed.

"You're awake?" Elsa asked surprised.

"Yes silly, I have been since you walked into the room," Anna answered.

Elsa flushed. "Pervert." She smiled and climbed into bed.

"Oh calm down I didn't see anything." Anna lifted the covers to let Elsa slip inside. "It's not like I haven't seen you in the nude before anyway." Elsa was too tired to blush any further. When Elsa settled in, Anna scooted over and cuddled up next to her. "Plus you have a gorgeous body, it's too hard not to look," Anna giggled.

Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna and pressed her body up against Anna's, craving the warmth. "Oh shut up and go to sleep you."

"I love you, Elsa," Anna whispered.

"I…" Elsa yawned. "…love you too Anna."

Silence fell over the two and within minutes they had both fallen asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Mig and road for helping with this chapter. As of now, this is an Elsacest fic.
> 
> I want to say next update will come after Memorial Day, but I might end up trying to put it out before


	4. The Monster That I Am

Morning sunlight filtered through Elsa's closed eyelids willing her mind to return to the land of consciousness. As the sleep-laden haze that clouded her mind slowly dissipated, Elsa felt a wave of happiness wash over her, bringing a smile to her face in her half-sleep state. She had been dreaming, but as the haze cleared she didn't remember exactly what this dream was about. It was an amazing dream she knew, it made Elsa feel happiness, love, pleasure...her eyes fluttered open as the details became clearer. There was nobody else in it except for herself, Elsa remembered, two of herselves in fact. No wait, not two of herself...black hair...it was herself and her twin sister Elise.

Elsa's half-lidded eyes shot wide open. The sleepy haze disappeared in the same instant and the happiness she felt turned into dread. And pleasure? It wasn't just an emotional feeling though, she could feel the dampness between her legs. Elsa held her breath, refusing to move as she searched her memories for more details of the dream. Nothing, all she could remember was pleasure and Elise. A spark of hope suddenly popped up in Elsa's mind.

Elsa gathered her strength and willed her body to move and turned to her still sleeping sister by her side. She took a moment to mentally prepare herself for what she had to do. As if moving on thin ice, Elsa crawled over to Anna, slowly lifting up the blanket as she moved. Elsa paused, was she really going to do this? Yes, she had to know what had caused this feeling. Elsa continued, slowly and cautiously moving a shaking hand to the hem of Anna's nightgown. She started carefully lifting, frost starting to form on the blanket in her other hand. Her heart was beating so loud. Elsa feared it would awaken Anna, but she continued lifting. Elsa closed her eyes when she failed to find what she was looking for. She hurriedly reversed her movements, not daring to release the breath she'd been holding until returning her head to her pillow.

It was the one and only time Elsa wanted to find Anna in an aroused state and she was not. This wasn't the first time Elsa had woken up with this feeling next to Anna. It would happen once in a while when they starting sleeping in the same bed and Elsa hadn't the clue what was causing it. That is until one night she awoke to find Anna sub-consciously grinding up against her while moaning Kristoff's name. Anna didn't know of course because Elsa refused to mention the incident to her sister, instead she threw her off the bed and froze the room citing the cause of doing so on a nightmare. Elsa had hoped this was one of those incidents. It was not.

That left only one option. Elsa had dreamt about sleeping with her twin. Of course she would though, Elsa reasoned with herself. She was a messed up person from a messed up family. Her little not-so-innocent sister was a sexual deviant, as Elsa had concluded over the past four months, who humped her in her sleep and touched herself in front of paintings. Elsa herself was a witch and now an incestuous witch on top of that.

Elsa let go of the frozen bed sheets she had been grasping and hugged her arms around herself as memories of her teenage years came back to haunt her. She had determined during those years that her life was going to end burning at the stake. Recent events had proved that future false, but now Elsa was having her doubts again. She stared at the ceiling as multiple scenarios started playing out in her head—angry crowds storming the castle, an assassin slitting her throat on the throne, the fires, Anna leaving her out of disgust...

"Mmm...Elsa cold," Anna murmured in her sleep knocking Elsa out of her reverie.

Elsa suddenly realized what she was doing. The room was starting to freeze and Anna was stirring awake. She couldn't let Anna see this, she couldn't let Anna know. Elsa closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and got to work. After taking a few moments of reigning in her emotions, Elsa's breathing and pulse slowed and she finally allowed herself to open her eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief when she did. The room was now thawed.

"Nice work," came a voice to her right and Elsa realized Anna hadn't been completely asleep the whole time as she might've thought, "but that doesn't get you off the hook."

Determined to fool her sister, Elsa decided to fake annoyance. She rolled her eyes and turned her head to meet Anna's questioning stare. "It's nothing," Elsa said with just a hint of annoyance.

"Really, because you started freezing the room and you're still holding yourself." Anna propped herself up on her elbow. Her face flushed before continuing at a lower volume. "I wasn't humping you again was I?"

Elsa was removing her arms from her body from the first comment when Anna's question struck her. "What the hell Anna," she exclaimed while jumping out of bed. She made sure to keep her back to the bed so Anna couldn't see her horrified beet-red face.

"Elsa I'm really sorry, I can't help it. I just get these urges and I'm not even awake when I do it. I caught myself doing it one night and I wanted to tell you, but I was so scared of what you might think so-"

"Stop!" Elsa yelled holding her hand out behind her. "That's not the reason and yes, I already knew. Let's just stop talking about that right now though." After taking a few seconds to calm her breathing, Elsa finally turned around to face her sister. Anna was hugging her pillow and staring down at the bed with glistening eyes. Elsa wrung her hands together. "Anna, I'm sorry I yelled."

"No, it's okay, I shouldn't have brought it up. It was bad timing," Anna responded. She smiled and looked up at Elsa. "Let's go get breakfast and put this behind us. I'll go get changed."

Elsa smiled back. "Yes, that's probably a good idea." Elsa should have felt relieved that Anna had so easily dropped both subjects, but the memory of what had caused all this in the first place still nagged at Elsa. She struggled to keep her smile from faltering as Anna made her way to the door. "I'll see you in a little," Elsa finished off with a wave.

Anna left the room, but not before sticking her head back through the doorway with a wicked smile plastered on her face. "Oh Elsa, next time you want to look at my pussy, just ask okay?" she said with a wink.

Elsa could have died.

* * *

"So, what was with you this morning and what did it have to do with my you-know-what?" Anna asked once the servants left the dining room.

Elsa stopped her fork midway to her mouth. She stared at it as if it would give her the proper response. "It wasn't anything, just a bad dream," Elsa said, finally finding the words she was looking for. She had allowed herself to calm down from her morning anxiety before breakfast. It was all just a stupid dream after all. It didn't mean anything and Elsa wasn't going to be burning at the stake for being an incestuous witch. That's what she told herself at least, and it worked. Now her sister on the other hand...

"It doesn't sound like a bad dream. It certainly didn't smell like one."

Elsa glared icy daggers at Anna, cheeks turning pink from both anger, shame, and embarrassment. "This is not appropriate table-talk Anna," Elsa said through gritted teeth.

"Psshh, who cares there's nobody around right now this is our private time. Anyway, it's perfectly normal to have those kinds of dreams Elsa." Anna was smiling too wide, it was forced. "You're a grown woman after all. Anyway I have those kinds of dreams all the time." A blush crossed Anna's face and she finally let go of the forced smile, turning back to her food.

"Yeah, I know," Elsa started, but decided to shut up instead of continuing. She looked down at her plate and stirred her food. An uncomfortable silence hung over both sisters for the next few minutes, both their appetites lost.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Anna asked breaking the silence.

Elsa let out a sigh and turned to her smiling sister, eyebrow raised and eyes intense. Anna's smile faltered under the gaze.

"What is it, Elsa?"

"Anna, you need try to be less forgetful. You need to go into town and help with the preparations."

Anna nearly jumped out of her seat with excitement. "Preparations? Oh, I'm so excited!" She was bouncing up and down in her seat then suddenly paused. "Wait, preparations for what?"

This used to surprise Elsa, now she just rolled her eyes. "Preparations for the arrival of the American delegation tomorrow, Anna."

"Oh right, now I remember."

"As soon as we finish up here-," Elsa looked at the clock, it was quarter past nine, "-you're going to go with Kai down to the docks and get the town ready for their arrival. Now you're going to be down there most of the day so I'm probably not going to see you until bed time. Do you understand?"

"Aww, I do Elsa. Well, now I'm excited," Anna said then asked, "what are you up to Elsa?"

"I have preparations to do here and I need to meet with my council as soon as we finish up," Elsa paused, "I also wish to speak to Elise at some point today, too." She winced as she waited for her sister's reaction.

A simple "Oh," was the only response she got. Elsa was suspicious, she expected more. When it was evident that Anna wouldn't speak any more on that matter, Elsa finished up her breakfast and excused herself to go to her council meeting.

"Have fun today Anna and don't get into any trouble," Elsa said to her sister as she walked away the table. Though before Elsa could reach the door, Anna ran up and grabbed her into a hug from behind.

"I will as long as you will. Love you Els." Anna leaned closer to Elsa's ear. "And I will find out who's been plaguing your dreams sister," she whispered.

Elsa could only swallow, all color draining from her face. She broke free of Anna's embrace, mumbled a "Love you too," and made her escape down the hall. She would get back at Anna for this, but for now she had a meeting with her council to catch, a meeting about Elise.

Elsa reached the council chamber doors, but stood outside them. She was running a tad behind, but they could wait. She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself. This was not a topic she wanted to discuss with these people, especially after this morning, but it was something she had to do. She donned her regal mask and entered the room.

The seven men that made up her council sprung up and greeted her as she entered. "Good morning, Gentlemen," she greeted in return and made her way to the head of the table. The seven men remained standing until their Queen took her seat.

All seven members of Elsa's council had been appointed by her father and continued to serve Elsa well. Seated to her right was her most trusted councilman, Chancellor Count Yngvi Jakobsen. Count Jakobsen served as her father's Chancellor for most of her life and ruled Arendelle as regent between her parents' death and her coronation. As Crown Princess, Elsa had participated in council affairs during Jakobsen's regency, however her rule wasn't absolute until being crowned Queen. Chancellor Jakobsen was the closest thing to a head of government Arendelle had as well as the closest thing to a family friend of the royal family. To his right sat the Minister of Treasury, Torbjørn Kristoffersen, the oldest member of Elsa's council and in Elsa's opinion the most level-headed and calm. To his right sat the Minister of Commerce and Minister of Agriculture, Halstein Vinter and Caj Nielson. Both were appointed around the time of Elsa's accident and were extremely skilled at their jobs. Elsa knew those two were responsible for her father's success at keeping Arendelle prosperous and well fed and they continued to do so into Elsa's reign. To Elsa's left sat the Foreign Minister, Hallvard Hansen, the newest member of her council. He was appointed just a few months before her father's death and was by far the most liberal member of Elsa's council. As a result, he often butted heads with Chancellor Jakobsen and Minister Kristoffersen, both of whom were strict conservatives. To his left sat the Minister of Army, General Gulbrand Holt, and finally Minister of Navy, Admiral Anved Hoffman. Neither military officer got along with the other, General Holt was a Norwegian nationalist and Admiral Hoffman was a strict Arendelle royalist. Despite his nationalistic views, General Holt's loyalty to the crown was unquestionable and excelled at cost-effective management of the army. His ill relationship with Admiral Hoffman was also useful at keeping the armed forces from ganging up on her other councilmen.

Elsa sat in silence, waiting for one of them to start the meeting. Finally, Admiral Hoffman spoke up.

"Is it true your majesty?" he asked generally intrigued. The councilmen seemed to lean in closer as if the answer was going to be hard to hear.

"It is," she responded never once dropping her bearing. The men leaned back in their seats. "Elise looks exactly like me, there is no doubt she is my identical twin sister." The last part drew a low murmur from the councilmen.

"Twin?" Chancellor Jakobsen asked leaning in close to Elsa, his eyes were wide open in disbelief.

"Yes, Chancellor, my twin." Her security measures were better than she thought if not even they already knew. Elsa continued before anyone else could speak up. "My main concern right now though, is the legitimacy of her claim to my throne. Well Chancellor?"

Elsa was generally shocked when he laughed in her face. "You can't be serious your majesty," he said after his initial outburst then paused to gauge the Queens reaction. Elsa's face remained stoic. "Queen Elsa, Arendelle law of succession states that the first-born is to be next in line to the throne. The survival rate of twins making it to adulthood is so low that the idea of twins was never considered when the laws were written. It was expected that only one would survive to adulthood. I would guess though that the first out of the womb would hold the position of next-"

"We don't know who was first," Elsa interrupted. "And I don't think we ever will," she added her voice slightly lowering. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Minister Kristoffersen raise an inquiring eyebrow.

"Your majesty," Admiral Hoffman spoke up, "the laws of succession don't even apply here. You were the Crown Princess, you were chosen to be your father's successor." Admiral Hoffman had been close friends with her father, Elsa had to remind herself. He still blamed himself for his death.

"You seem to be very sure that we'll never know the details of your birth, Queen Elsa," Minister Kristoffersen interrupted with his typical calm demeanor. "I wonder why that is?" Elsa knew where he was going with this. He had never approved of her fathers' fixation on funneling funds to secret projects, especially after he learned what the money was being spent on four months ago—keeping her powers a secret. It was the one exception from his calm level-headed personality.

Elsa wasn't the only one who knew where the Minister of Treasury was going with this. Admiral Hoffman was on his feet before Elsa could answer Kristoffersen. "What are you implying old man?" His voiced was raised, but not yet shouting.

"Perhaps I am wondering how many more secrets his late majesty was covering up with Arendelle's treasury." Minister Kristoffersen's face was as emotionless as Elsa's. Admiral Hoffman's face on the other hand was turning red with rage.

It was General Holt who had spoken up before Admiral Hoffman could explode. "The business of the royal family is none of your concern Minister Kristoffersen." Not a single person in the room could have predicted that the Army officer would stand up for his naval counterpart. Even Elsa almost let her regal mask slip in surprise. Something must have been troubling him greatly. The shock was certainly enough to convince Admiral Hoffman and Kristoffersen to both back down so General Holt could continue.

"There is a pressing matter here your majesty." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Is she a threat to Arendelle?" The rest of her council looked to each other in confusion. Arendelle Castle was really good at keeping secrets, though how General Holt knew about Elise's powers when the rest of her council was clueless, Elsa could only speculate.

Elsa swallowed. She had hopped she wouldn't have to explain this to them and dreaded the inevitable 'is she a threat' question. Elsa spent the next few minutes going over the events of that night so her entire council was fully up to speed. She made sure to mention the lack of evidence in the records of Elise's existence.

"None of this leaves the room do you all understand?" Elsa finished. They all nodded in affirmation and she turned to General Holt. "As for you question General Holt, I..." Elsa hesitated before continuing. "...at this present time I am still evaluating Elise." She knew this wouldn't put her council at ease. To be honest her council might not even believe that Elise was truly her twin. All they had was Elsa's word that they looked identical.

"Then perhaps you should consider modernizing our aging arsenals," General Holt countered. Elsa knew it, he had been talking with the Captain of her Royal Guard, that's how he knew about Elise's powers. In that case he might be more inclined to believe Elsa's word about Elise now that he had talked with another witness. "Arendelle cannot afford another unexpected winter your majesty."

"I think a more immediate concern is the arrival of the American delegation," said her Foreign Minister.

"I agree," said Chancellor Jakobsen. "Your majesty what do you plan on doing with her while the Americans are visiting? As you must be aware, this visit is extremely important to us."

"Elise will remain in her cell while I continue to evaluate her-" Elsa started.

"Queen Elsa, the Americans won't look too kindly at you if they find out you've been holding your own sister in the dungeons during their stay and God forbid one of the other kingdoms finds out," Foreign Minister Hansen interrupted.

Elsa's mask finally broke. She turned to the Foreign Minister with a snarl. "She's my sister. I'll do what I want," Elsa snapped and stared down at the table below her before she could even register Minister Hansen's shocked face as she realized what she had just done. A silence engulfed the room, no one dared to speak. Elsa had prided herself at remaining fully composed at every council meeting no matter how heated things got. This was the first time she ever lost control. However, she had no idea what had made her snap. It had just happened like an instinct. Maybe Elise was just a really touchy subject for her. In a way so was Anna, but her council knew better than to use Anna against her.

She felt Chancellor Jakobsen's hand on her shoulder now. "Elsa," he whispered so low that Elsa could barely hear it. She looked up to the councilmen staring off in different directions, none of them, but Jakobsen dared to look at her. Then she noticed that she could see their breath.

Elsa composed herself and re-donned her regal mask. She cleared her throat and began. "Under no circumstances are the Americans or anyone to find out about Elise until I have determined that she is no longer threat."

A chorus of "Yes, your majesty" rose up from the councilmen. Only then did she allow the room to return to normal temperature. Hopefully they got the message that Elise was off-limits too. "There is one item I wish to discuss on this subject before we move on. Elise is my twin sister whether you believe me or not and we may have been separated all these years, but she is back now and is part of this family." Elsa paused to let them speculate. "Henceforth, Elise will be known as Princess Elise of Arendelle. Any objections or concerns?" She didn't wait for anyone to speak up. "Good, now let us adjourn this meeting and get to work on the preparations for tomorrow. You all know what you have to do. You're dismissed." Elsa stood up to go.

* * *

Hours later, Elsa stood in front of the door to Elise's cell. She had worked all day following the council meeting to make sure Arendelle was prepared for tomorrow, even working through dinner to get to this moment now just as evening was arriving. She had cleared the guards when she first arrived and now she was alone with nothing but the keys to Elise's restraints and a burning lamp in her clenched fists.

She had been standing in front of this door for five minutes now, completely still, not staring at it, but staring through it. Finally, she found her courage and stepped forward. She moved as swiftly as she could through the cell door and closed it behind her before her nerves could get the better of her. Elsa didn't bother donning her regal mask for this visit. In fact she had left her crown back in her room and opted to change into her original ice dress, snowflake-infused braid and swept-back bangs included.

There she was. Elise was sitting on her cot again, facing out the small reinforced window of her cell. Elsa hung the burning lamp and stepped towards her sister.

"Good evening, Elise." Unlike her last visit, this time her twin did turn around though with a scowl transforming into surprise in the process. Elsa figured Elise wasn't in the mood for visitors, but hadn't been expecting the Queen to show up either. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not though. Still unsure, Elsa gave her a soft smile as she waited for a response, but the keys rattling in her fidgeting hands caught Elise's attention instead. Elise looked back up at Elsa with an inquiring eyebrow raised.

"Good evening to you too, your majesty," Elise finally responded dropping the eyebrow and giving a small smirk.

"Oh no, you can just call me Elsa, no formalities here please."

"Well, in that case you can just call me Elise," Elise quickly said. Elsa's smile faltered a little from confusion. _What is she talking about...oh right now I get it, the princess thing._ Elsa let out a giggle which she managed to politely cover with her hand.

"I bet you were surprised when they started calling you Princess Elise, huh?" Elsa followed up with, but Elise was unamused. Elsa coughed into her hand and continued, "Since you're my sister and all I ordered the guards and servants to make sure to call you Princess Elise on the account that you're a princess and uh..." Elsa trailed off and swallowed. Elise's face had gone from unamused to impatient. Elsa knew so because she recognized the facial expressions as her own.

"What is this visit about? Are you here to let me go?" Elise asked folding her arms as her impatience grew.

"No, not exactly," Elsa whimpered as silently as she could. "I ugh...w-wanted to spend some quality time with my sister," Elsa said more loudly with an unconvincing smile.

"In a prison cell?" Elise asked.

"Well yes," Elsa answered before allowing the question to sink in. When it hit, Elsa started waving her hands back and forth in front of her. "No, no, no. You and only you are responsible for being locked up in here. This was your doing." Elise glared up at her.

"So," Elsa started moving the conversation along as she took a seat next to Elise, "how are your hands and feet feeling?"

"Are you serious?" Elise answered with an annoyed sigh.

"Yes, I am. I thought maybe you would like to take a break from them." Elsa held up the keys in front of her growing smile. Elise was so wide-eyed in excitement that Elsa didn't even need to ask.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Elsa teased hiding the keys behind back and grinning widely. "First you have to swear to behave," Elsa said pointing her other hand at Elise.

Elise's mouth hung open in disbelief at Elsa's sudden change in behavior. But Elsa's change of behavior was only skin deep. On the inside she was terrified. Terrified that Elise would take her playful behavior the wrong way. She was even more terrified though that letting Elise out of her restraints would turn out to be a very bad idea. And then worst of all, Anna would find out.

"So, do you swear it?" Elsa questioned, bringing the keys back out from her back. She could feel her confidence slipping as she waited for Elise's answer.

She didn't have to wait long though. Elise shot her hands up in front of Elsa and pleaded. "Yes, I swear, now please take these damned things off."

Elsa gulped and drew a deep breath. _Here goes nothing._ She slowly brought the keys down to the manacles around her hands and unlocked them. Elsa was so tense that their impact on the ground startled her. She cowered away from Elise who she assumed was responsible for the noise. Elsa tried relaxing when she found Elise too busy coddling her freed hands instead of attacking her. Elsa shifted and leaned down so she could free Elise's feet.

When Elsa leaned back up, she found Elise eyeing her oddly. Their faces were only a few inches apart. "Uh hi," Elsa blurted out. It was the only thing she could think of. Elise burst into a fit of laughter. Elsa tried laughing along, but found herself too confused.

When Elise finally recovered she explained herself. "You know for a Queen, you're pretty awkward." Elsa flushed and Elise changed her tone. "Thanks anyway for letting me out of these though," she trailed off turning her eyes away from Elsa and out the window to the twilight of sunset. Elsa followed her eyes out the window.

"It's no problem," Elsa said pausing to silently watch the fading light before continuing. "Yeah, I guess I am a little awkward around people when I'm not acting as the composed and regal, reclusive Queen of Arendelle." Elsa drew her legs onto the cot and pulled her knees to her chest. "To be honest, I don't socialize with anyone other than Anna. I'm not really sure how to socialize with people outside of official balls and state parties. I never had a chance to learn. I was too busy studying or trying to keep my powers hidden from Anna."

"Hidden?" Elise questioned, finally turning to look at Elsa. Elsa could see her genuine curiosity through the glow from the lamp. An idea suddenly popped up in her head. It was about time Elise learned about Elsa's own past.

"Elise, let me tell you a story," Elsa began. Elsa spent the next hour and a half retelling the story of her life to her twin making sure to cover the most important details that she could. Elise was listening intently without interrupting once, her face remained stoic the entire time. By the time Elsa had reached the end, tears were flowing freely down her cheeks despite the happy ending. Elsa had never told anyone this in such detail. It was very emotional.

"Wow," was all Elise could say when Elsa finished. Elsa was now sobbing with her head buried in her knees. "That must have been horrible sitting in that room for thirteen years listening to your sister always on the other side. How does one even cope with that?"

"I didn't," Elsa looked up at Elise who was just staring off at a spot on the floor. She was wringing her hands together, a habit that Elsa thought was reserved for herself. "Sometimes I just thought about ending it myself, ending this monster that I am." Elsa sniffled. "But I could never do that to Anna, especially after what happened to our parents."

"Monster that I am," Elsa could hear Elise repeat under her breath. Several minutes passed by as the twins sat in silence. Elsa composed herself and her sobs faded into light sniffling and hiccups. Neither girl neither noticed nor cared that the entire cell was covered in ice. Elsa was unsure how much was her own doing though.

"Sometimes when I was up in the North Pole," Elise started out of the blue. Elsa wiped her eyes one final time before focusing on Elise. "I would hope that one day someone would come knocking at my doors." Elise paused. "But no one ever came."

"Why did you go up there Elise?" Elsa decided it was time to ask.

Elise finally looked up from her spot on the floor and gazed into Elsa's eyes. Her eyes were glazed over. "I was that monster that you feared you were, Elsa." Elise closed her eyes and brought her balled up hands to her face. "I was just so upset that mother and father wouldn't let me go out and play with the other kids that night. They were punishing me because they caught me trying to show off my snow. I was so angry at them and throwing such fit. I barely even remember doing it, they were just yelling and I was yelling back and I slammed my foot down and…and when I open my eyes there was blood everywhere." Elsa's eyes went wide, but she wasn't prepared for what happened next.

Elise grabbed a fist full of her hair and let out a terrifying shriek that made Elsa cower back. "I killed them!" she half screamed-sobbed. "I was so scared I ran out into the village. People were crowding around to see what was going on and I panicked and I just started freezing and freezing and when I was done there was no one left." By the time Elise finished her voiced had dropped to a whisper. "So I ran north until I came to the sea and then I kept on running until there was nothing around me but ice." She kept repeating 'nothing but ice' several times under her breath.

Elsa was in complete shock. Elise had killed all those people and here Elsa thought she was the one who was the monster. _No, Elise wasn't a monster either it was just an accident._ Elsa couldn't think of her as a monster, not when she sat there nearly ripping her hair out and rocking back and forth with her knees tucked into her body. Her eyes were wide open and looked devoid of life. She looked so broken, even more so than Elsa herself. Elsa knew what she had to do.

Elsa crawled over to Elise and wrapped her arms around her. "It's going to be okay. It was just an accident, Elise. It was in the past, everything is different now," Elsa tried reassuring her. Elise responded by letting go of hair and grabbing onto Elsa as an anchor. With Elsa's support, Elise opened up the floodgates. For the next twenty minutes Elise sobbed in Elsa's arms while Elsa whispered words of reassurance in her ear and caressed her hair. Finally, Elise's sobs too faded into periodic sniffles.

"Is this what it feels like to have a sister?" Elise finally spoke up.

Elsa finally smiled for the first time in over an hour. "Yes, it's wonderful isn't it?"

An affirmative nod was her only response. After a few more minutes Elise moved out of Elsa's embrace, got off the cot, and walked around the cell. Elsa just watched with curiosity. She noticed Elise was muttering to herself. She did that a lot, Elsa realized.

Finally, Elise stopped pacing and turned to Elsa. "I like your dress. It was your original one correct?"

"Yes, and thank you." Elsa was glad for the change of subject. "I like yours too."

"And you said you built your ice palace on your first try? How long did it take you?"

"Uh, only a few minutes actually." Elsa wasn't sure where this line of questioning was going.

"No way," Elise said narrowing her eyes. "You're lying."

"No, it's true," Elsa countered while standing up. "Just watch." Elise stood in amazement as Elsa built a scale model of her ice palace within the cell.

Elise's eyes were wide in wonderment. It reminded Elsa of Anna when she was kid. "It's beautiful." Elsa was delighted. "It took me years to finally build my own perfect palace. Just keeping it from falling down took forever."

"Oh." The reasoning behind her ice building hadn't occurred to Elsa before, but now it did. "Oh, that makes sense."

"What's that?" Elise asked never taking her eyes on off the model.

"Architecture," Elsa answered.

"Architecture?"

"Yes, architecture. And geometry. They were both kind of my hobby when I was growing up." Elsa turned away shyly from Elise's questioning gaze. "I've been drawing designs and sketches since I was ten."

"That explains how you managed to build this so easily." Elise turned back to examining the model. "I like more natural things myself. Animals and landscapes you know? I loved making sculptures, statues, and live ice creatures. Oh, and shaping the landscape."

Elsa was enjoying Elise marvel at her creation. "I see. That reminds me, how did you end up finding about my coronation?" Elsa asked.

"Oh, I'll show you actually," Elise paused and held up her hand. "Do you mind?" she asked looking at Elsa cautiously.

"No, please go on," Elsa had completely forgotten that Elise could have taken the opportunity to kill her or escape for a while now.

Elise whirled her hand around and formed a small ball of deep blue ice. It twirled around in a cloud of magic and ice crystals until it took on an odd snowflake looking shape. Elise sent it slowly over to her twin and Elsa held out her hand to catch it. It never reached her hand, instead it started flying around her head. Elsa managed to get a good look at it now. It looked like some kind of fairy made out of snowflakes.

"I call them Snow Fairies. I can send them anywhere in the world, though not a lot at a time. Through my connection to them I can see, hear, or even feel whatever they do, wherever they are."

"Whoa," Elsa was impressed. _Who needs secret police when you had these guys?_

"That's how I found out about your coronation. That's how I kept somewhat in touch with the outside world. I was always learning thanks to these guys. It takes a lot of concentration and control though."

"I bet," Elsa said as she stared at the Snow Fairy with fascination. Suddenly, Elise made it disappear. Elsa turned to look at Elise, nervousness creeping up on her.

However, Elise didn't look like she was going to attack. "So, I take it Anna doesn't really like me?"

"I'm afraid not," Elsa gave her a reassuring smile. "You haven't exactly been too kind to her yourself though."

"Yeah, I think I'm starting to realize that." Elise turned her head and refused to meet Elsa's eyes. Was she ashamed perhaps? And speaking of Anna, it was getting late. Elsa had to get to bed soon as much as she wanted to stay up all night talking to Elise.

"Elise, it's getting late. I think I'm going to have to go now." Elsa hadn't noticed Elise attempt to open her mouth first. "I want to visit again, but I'm going to be very busy the next few days. I won't be able to come tomorrow, but I will be able to the next day."

Elise rubbed her arm. "Oh, okay then."

The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Elsa. _This was going to suck. How do I go through with this?_

"In the meantime I'm going to have to ask you to uhm..." Elsa trailed off as she directed her gaze to the manacles that sat on the floor next to the cot.

"No, I understand Elsa. I'll put them back on without a fight." Elise started walking back to her cot with her eyes to the floor.

_Well, that was easy._

Elise held out her hands to be restrained. Instead Elsa wrapped her arms around her. "Goodnight Elise. I'm glad to have you part of my life now." Before pulling away though, Elsa lightly kissed her cheek. She heard her shocked twin mumble something under her breath, but Elsa couldn't make it out. Elsa had a sudden urge to leave as fast as possible. She locked the manacles back on to her hands and feet and turned to leave grabbing the lantern in the process. Before closing the door Elsa looked over her shoulder to find Elise staring back at her.

Elsa was practically running down the corridors away from that cell. The visit had been extremely successful up until the very end. She had felt a strange feeling develop in the pit of her stomach when she had spontaneously decided to hug Elise before departing. She had an idea what this feeling was. All her fears from this morning were starting to come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those who helped (Mig and Road) with this chapter. I wanted to get it this out at least yesterday, but whatever it's here now. So my apologies though I did already start writing chapter 4.
> 
> Don't worry there will be some action soon I promise. Not gonna say what kind of action though.
> 
> Also I changed the genre because. Thanks for reading.


	5. Stars and Stripes Forever

Today was finally the day. Queen Elsa and Princess Anna were going to meet Chancellor Jakobsen, Foreign Minister Hansen, and Admiral Hoffman at the docks for the arrival of the American delegation. Weeks were spent in preparation for this day. The reveal of Elsa's powers had been quite a shock to the international community. Most European governments were unsure of how to deal with this new information or how to approach Queen Elsa and as a result, Arendelle was given the cold shoulder diplomatically. Not a single diplomatic move was made towards Arendelle since the queen's coronation as the world considered their options. Elsa considered it a miracle that they had even responded to her requests for emergency rations for the winter.

Upon hearing about this diplomatic standstill, the young republic from the new world jumped upon the opportunity to make the first move. Elsa had received a communiqué from President Tyler a few weeks after her coronation asking to send an American delegation to Arendelle to negotiate a commerce and friendship treaty. She knew the Americans wanted to discuss the ice trade and use this opportunity as a power play against the other European powers. What she feared though, was that the ambitious Americans wanted to use her powers in the ice trade despite informing the dignitaries at her coronation that her powers would remain for private use only. Despite her fears, Elsa had agreed and preparations for their arrival had begun. Not only were Arendelle-American relations at stake here, but her and Arendelle's reputations were on the line as well as the rest of the world watched and waited.

So far everything was going according to plan. Well, almost everything. Going against Gerda's advice, Elsa had decided that she'd design her own ice dress for this occasion. Of course this led to Anna demanding to be able to design her own dress as well. Elsa had allowed it, but immediately regretted her decision when Anna arrived in the courtyard for the carriage trip to the docks. Anna wasn't wearing a dress, instead she wore vermilion red trousers adorned with rosemaling designs with a matching long-sleeved polo-necked blouse, gold-trimmed black bodice, and a floor length royal purple cape. Elsa had been furious, but eventually calmed herself down. Anna's unorthodox choice of wardrobe wasn't going to ruin anything, at least she was dressed conservatively and her hair was done nicely in the usual braided style reserved for special occasions.

Elsa's hair was also made up and fashioned in the same way she had worn at her coronation. Her new dress was much more conservative than her original ice dress and far less revealing. It was a slightly deeper shade of blue and duller to prevent it from sparkling in the sunlight. She also wore a sweetheart bodice that blended into the dress save for the near white ice-jewels that completely encrusted it. The dress was full length to the floor, no slit, and came up to her neck covering both her shoulders and the full length of her arms. The dress finished off with a snowflake-designed high collar that reached all the way up to her ears. A transparent cape made out of sheer ice and adorned in snowflake designs completed her outfit. She was in complete contrast to Anna.

As they pulled up to the docks Elsa gave her sister one more look of disapproval.

"Oh, come on, Elsa you're wearing ice. I'm allowed to dress up different too. Plus it helps with the point that we're not your typical royalty," Anna tried reasoning. Elsa just rolled her eyes.

_We certainly are one of a kind._

They arrived at the docks to find everything set up and ready to go. Red, white, and blue decorations hung from buildings and lamp posts to welcome the foreigners. Elsa took her spot with Anna by her side along with her three councilmen and a detachment of her Royal Guard as they waited for the arrival of the American delegation whose ship had already entered the fjord.

"Whoa," Anna exclaimed when the American ship came into view. It was a steamship, a rarity in these parts. Admiral Hoffman must have been watering at the mouth to get one of these added to Arendelle's small flotilla. Not many navies actually possessed steam warships and as Elsa understood this one was one of the American Navy's first.

As the ship pulled up to dock, Elsa could read lettering on its hull. _USS Missouri_ it read in English. Besides her native language, Elsa was fluent in German, Swedish, and Danish. Her English though, wasn't the best. Still she didn't recognize that word, though she may have seen it before somewhere.

Beside her, Anna was attempting to sound out the word. "M-m-i-ss-"

"Missouri, your highness," Foreign Minister Hansen corrected. Anna didn't know English and her tutors could barely get her to learn Swedish, Danish, or German. "It's one of their states and is a major river in the Americas," he continued, answering Anna's second question before she could ask it. Now Elsa remembered seeing it, the Missouri River was on a map she read while studying geography.

Elsa gave Anna one last quick look of reassurance as the _USS Missouri_ finished docking and finally lowered its gang-plank. A group of well-dressed men were the first off the ship, they seemed to be centered on a tall man in his 40s who sported mutton chops, a mustache, and top hat. They all appeared to be civilians wearing top hats and black jackets with the exception of three. One wore a blue jacket with gold epaulets, blue trousers, and a black cocked hat while the other two wore dark blue coats, scarlet-stripped light blue trousers, and yellow-edged round hats. All three wore swords at their sides, obvious they were military officers.

As the party approached, Elsa noticed the ship's deck was crowded with sailors all eager to catch a glimpse at the mysterious and beautiful 'Snow Queen'. Elsa tried not to let them distract her as the Americans reached them.

She cleared her throat before speaking in the best English she could manage, "Greetings, I am Queen Elsa and zis is my sister Princesz Anna. Ve both vish to extend our graciousnesz for your visit and velcome you to Arendelle."

"Ja, I Princess Anna velcomb ahnd til Arendelle," Anna said in broken English. Elsa had told her to stay quiet. Why couldn't she just listen for once? Despite her irritation, Elsa kept her posture even as the group in front of her gave a small chuckle at Anna's terrible pronunciation.

"Thank you, your majesty," the mustached man in the middle said with a bow in near perfect Norwegian. Elsa mentally sighed in relief. This would certainly make their conversations go much smoother. He turned to Anna with a smile and bowed to her too. "And to you as well, your highness." Anna blushed, but he continued on. "I am Minister Alexander Herbert, the official United States Envoy to the Kingdom of Arendelle." He held out his hand to the Queen. "Thank you for the honor of having us, your majesty."

"Well, nice to meet you, Minister Herbert," Elsa said taking his hand and shaking it. "I wasn't aware you were fluent in Norwegian."

"I come from a Norwegian family, your majesty," Minister Herbet explained. "Let me introduce my compatriots." He started to point to the other civilian-dressed men in his group. "This is Representative Benjamin Garner of the US state of Massachusetts and of the United States House Committee on Commerce," he said then pointed at another man. "This is Johnathon Mulloy, a lawyer who represents several American businessmen involved in the ice trade." He gestured to the last of his civilian companions. "This is my secretary William Beck and our translator Patrick Bayer." Minister Herbert now indicated to the blue uniformed man. "And this is Captain Samuel Hill of the _USS Missouri_ along with our two Marine escorts." Elsa eyed the two scarlet striped Marines suspiciously. It reminded Elsa of her last run in with two 'escorts'—better known as the Duke of Weseltown's bodyguards.

After exchanging more greetings between the two parties, Elsa decided to get them moving along. "So, before we settle down at the castle we were hoping to provide you with a quick tour of Arendelle itself if that's not an issue."

"Of course not, your majesty, we would be honored to be given a tour," Minister Herbert responded. He was very soft-spoken and diplomatic, Elsa observed. She could foresee him being a tough opponent at the negotiating table.

"Very well then. I will see to it that your personal items will be taken to your rooms." Elsa turned to Chancellor Jakobsen. "In the meantime, Chancellor you may proceed with our tour."

Above the two parties on the deck of the US steamship, sailors lined the railings watching the exchange take place.

"What in the Lord's name is that redheaded girl wearing? She looks absolutely ridiculous," observed one of the sailors in English.

To his side, another sailor turned with an inquiring eyebrow raised. "Redhead? Jonny, you blind fool did you miss the blonde one next to her?"

"Yes, she was quite the beauty too, but-"

"She was wearing ice for clothes and you're worrying about a Princess in pants?"

"Oh. Hmm...first princesses in pants and now ice clothes. We truly are in dark times." The sailor to Jonny's side just rolled his eyes.

* * *

The tour of Arendelle was hardly quick. They were going on their second hour and still had another two to go. On the inside, Elsa was very ready to go home, though she refused to let it show. Not because of the walking though, the only reason her feet weren't killing her was because she had been constantly and subtlety changing her footwear. That was the benefit of manipulable ice shoes. No, her problem was that she had nothing to keep her occupied. Not even listening to the tour was interesting since Elsa had heard all this information multiple times when Anna was able to coax her out the castle. Not even the architectural information caught her interest anymore. Chancellor Jakobsen was the one leading them, not because Elsa didn't want to, but because her experience around the city was on par with that of a common tourist. It was better to let someone with first-hand experience be the guide.

She remained silent while Chancellor Jakobsen gave his tour and Anna enthusiastically interrupted once in a while to give her input about one of her many visits out in town since the gates opened. The other guests eventually started conversations of their own with Admiral Ferguson and Foreign Minister Hansen. Even the translator, who seemed to be closer to her and Anna's age, tried striking up conversations with Anna when he wasn't busy translating. Come to think about it, he seemed rather infatuated with Anna.

_Why isn't he infatuated with me? Do I really come off as some kind cold-hearted bitch? Who am I kidding of course I do, they wouldn't call me the 'Snow Queen' if I wasn't. Wait, I don't even like dealing with people anyway, why do I care all of a sudden? I'm glad they're not talking to me honestly, but I wish I had something to do._

So Elsa remained silent. Silent and contemplative as her mind wandered.

With nothing else to do and the worrying of the American's arrival out of the way, that left one topic for Elsa's mind to wander to. Elise. The only thing that was on her mind was Elise. She had been blessed with dreamless sleep the night before and she had been too busy all morning to stop and think, but now things were different. The black-haired twin haunted her thoughts. There was so much more Elsa wanted to learn from her, so much more she needed to know about her. She had learned so much already, but it wasn't enough. Elsa needed more, she needed Elise. And then there were those thoughts again...

Elise made Elsa feel something that no other person made her feel. Love, but not love like the way she loved Anna and her parents. It was different, it was everything that her love for Anna had, but with more. It was...sensual? But why would she love her own twin sister like that? It was disgusting, immoral, degenerate, and so very wrong. Was she really just a disgusting monster or was she just confusing these feelings for something else? Or perhaps being separated from Elise for so long was causing it or maybe it was a side-effect of their magic? Elise was her identical twin after all so maybe she was just an extreme narcissist?

Pushing those feelings aside, she decided there were other matters to deal with concerning Elise. How was she going to determine when Elise wasn't a threat? How was she going to convince Anna that she wasn't a threat? Elsa needed to figure this out soon, she couldn't keep Elise locked up any longer, especially if she wanted a chance to reconnect with her long-lost twin. There was also the issue of the Crown Princess. Elsa was going to title Anna the Crown Princess, but since Elise arrived, Elsa was considering given her the title instead. That is if Elise is capable of leading, Elsa had to determine that first. Her council wouldn't approve either way, they wanted her to produce an heir.

That wasn't happening though. She remembered the first time she touched herself and the release she experienced resulted in ice coming out of her in a place she did not want ice to come out of. It was the last time she did that too. No, she wasn't going to risk killing her lover trying to get pregnant.

_Except your lover doesn't have a penis and is immune to the cold, stupid._

That last thought caused a deep blush to form on her face's typical stoic mask. She looked around sheepishly to make sure no one noticed. Fortunately, no one did.

_Oh my God, why did I just think that? Get a hold of yourself Elsa, you're losing it. That's your twin and a woman._

The whole situation was making Elsa go crazy. She would much rather be doing work than thinking about this. In fact, ruling her kingdom was much easier and relaxing than thinking about this whole mess. Even dealing with people, something Elsa loathed, was better than figuring this out.

"I should invade Sweden to get my mind off this," Elsa joked to herself under her breath. _Whoops._

"Is there something wrong, Queen Elsa?" her Chancellor asked.

"What? I didn't say...er, I mean no, I'm fine," Elsa quickly corrected herself. Suddenly she realized how deep in thought she was. They were already on their way back to the castle without her realizing it.

"This has been a lovely tour, but I must be getting back to my ship to oversee its mooring to our permanent position in the harbor," Captain Hill spoke up in English. "Don't worry we know the way," he said before anyone could offer him a guide. "Until next time, your majesty." He bowed and was off, his two Marines following close behind.

* * *

"Well Lieutenant, what do you think?" the American Captain asked as the trio made their way down the streets to the docks. They had thoroughly studied maps of Arendelle during their voyage and were capable of navigating without any guides.

"She was lost the entire tour, sir," one of the Marines spoke up. "Completely detached, her mind off in her own world."

"It was a wonder she managed to keep up with us at all," commented the other Marine.

"What are you trying to say? That she's insane?"

"Not at all, Captain. She seems to be an extreme introvert. I thought so myself from reading over the reports of the coronation incident. Today's observation confirms it though," the Lieutenant answered.

"She does seem rather cold for a 'Snow Queen'," the Captain said with a smile. The two Marines rolled their eyes. The trio fell silent as they turned a corner and into the earshot of a passing guard.

When they passed the other Marine spoke up. "It's all an act."

"Hmm?"

"She's putting on a mask," the Marine concluded.

"Explain yourself, Sergeant."

"This isn't the real her. It's what she wants the world to think. Calm, reserved, mysterious, emotionless Queen Elsa."

"And how can you tell this, Sergeant?" the Captain asked.

"She's constantly on edge. Even when she was lost in thought for the past four hours she was still, sub-consciously, on edge. You can tell by her mannerisms. She conceals them well, but they are not so easily concealed to the trained eye. Take the Princess's butchered greeting for example. To you, she appeared completely unmoved, even as you all had a laugh about it." The Captain grinned, that had been amusing. "You missed how her breathing slightly hitched, how her smile almost faltered for a split second, how her hands fought back the urge to start fiddling with themselves. She almost let it slip. She did in fact let it slip once during the tour. Something caused her to flush deeply. She thought no one noticed though."

"I have to agree with Sergeant Jackson, Capt'," the Lieutenant concurred.

"Very well. Then what is she hiding under that mask and why?" the Captain inquired.

The Lieutenant simply shrugged. "Who knows, but I doubt it's something sinister. Her unusual upbringing probably played a role in it and she is the Queen after all. She doesn't want her political enemies to take her as shy or timid."

Captain Hill decided to it was time to get to the point. "Does she pose a threat to Minister Herbert and the delegation?"

The two Marines could barely contain their laughter "The 'Snow Queen' is completely harmless," the Lieutenant answered. "She's just a young woman with the responsibilities of a nation and an unknown Godly power forced upon her. The fact that she's lasted this long is testament of her strength. No Captain, she is no evil witch and she won't lose it as long as she has that Princess of hers by her side. Minister Herbert is safe."

"Let's drop this topic until we get back to the privacy of the ship though," the Sergeant advised. "Our tail is starting to get bolder trying to listen in on us."

"Damn," Captain Hill cursed. "Okay, I'll take your word for it Lieutenant."

* * *

When they returned to the castle Kai showed the guests to their rooms and allowed for Anna and Elsa to return to their own to recuperate. Elsa scolded Anna again for the outfit choice and ordered her to change then decided to change out of her ice dress as well. She went with a shortened version of her coronation dress. After allowing some time for the delegation to settle in, Elsa met them in the conference room, though not before meeting with some of her councilmen to decide on a plan of action.

The two parties discussed the rules and formalities that the upcoming negotiations would follow as well as fleshing out the schedule. Minister Herbet offered to give the royals a tour of the _USS Missouri_ the next day which Elsa accepted on Anna's insistence. Anna had never seen a steamship up close before.

By evening, they had worked out all the necessary details. Elsa had hosted a formal dinner for the five guests and so she now sat in one of the lounges with Chancellor Jakobsen, Foreign Minister Hansen, and Admiral Hoffman. General Holt and the Captain of the Royal Guard had eventually joined them as well for drinking and socializing.

It was getting late and the get together showed no signs of ending. Being the host, Elsa couldn't just leave, much as she wanted to. She hadn't taken part in many conversations after the meeting. Most of the delegation and her own people talked amongst themselves which suited Elsa fine, though it left her in a similar situation as earlier today during the tour. The Captain of the Guard knew English and everyone else had some kind of shared language to speak to one another with. The room was abuzz with a mix of Norwegian, German, English, and even some French. Elsa was already emotionally drained and her head should have be throbbing from a migraine right now if she wasn't nursing her third glass of vodka. She had to thank Kai for that, the rest of them thought it was water.

Despite the shared languages, that poor translator was working nonstop which explained why he wasn't all over Anna. Speaking of Anna, where had she gone? She must've slipped out earlier.

_That little brat. She wasn't getting enough attention so she got upset and left. At least she gets attention from other people. No one ever ogles over me. How am I not more beautiful than she is?_

Elsa put down her glass, recognizing the path her thoughts were going down. Maybe that was enough alcohol for tonight. Elsa learned from her last experience getting drunk with Anna that alcohol brought out a very jealous and attention-seeking side of Elsa.

Drunk or not, Elsa was jealous of Anna's absence.

* * *

"You should have just stayed home. You had to go rush off like an idiot and now you're stuck here." It was the umpteenth time today that Elise was berating herself for her decision to come to Arendelle. She was at her typical spot on the cot staring out her tiny reinforced window. It was a good view of the harbor and the American steamship was moored front and center.

"She's never going to let you out," Elise said to herself. These last three days had been hell. Thirteen years of isolation and now Elise was under constant observation. The lack of privacy was driving Elise insane. These restraints were even worse. Uncomfortable and irritating. Elise had to rely on that rather nice servant— _Gerda I think her name was_ —to feed her.

Elise had to get out of here soon, but she had little hope of ever leaving. There was no way they were going to let her out of this cell alive. She tried to usurp the throne and assassinate the Queen. Looking back on the decision, Elise wasn't even sure why she did it. She spent so many years fantasizing about ruling her own kingdom, to rule something that wasn't just barren ice. When she found out about Elsa, she thought she'd been handed her own kingdom on a silver platter. It was supposed to be so easy, just waltz on into Arendelle and kill her twin. Elsa had appeared so incompetent when Elise observed her through the snow fairy spies.

Elise had been proven so wrong in the past few days. Elise knew she was wrong the moment she saw her with her own eyes that night. Elise was replying that night over and over since she woke up. The moment she entered that gate, a voice in the back of her mind screamed at her to stop. Since then, Elise identified what that voice wanted, what she wanted now—to reunite with her Elsa. But her lust for power, her inability to think ahead, ruined it all.

Elsa was never going to forgive her now. They were never going to reconcile and be sisters. Elise was never going to have the family she always, deep down, desired.

"I messed up so bad."

Of course, Elise didn't know Elsa was going to turn out so kind, so caring, and so much like herself. She assumed Elsa was just your typical spoiled and pampered royal. No, not assumed, she feared it. She had been afraid her own sibling wouldn't want her, but at the time, Elise didn't want to admit to herself that she was afraid. So instead her lust for power won out.

"If I only I thought this through, maybe-"

"You could've successfully killed my sister?" a voice behind her interrupted, startling her. She hadn't heard the door open.

Elise spun around to see who had, incorrectly, finished her thought. It was Elsa's sister, Anna. No, not just Elsa's sister, her sister. For a brief second, Elise smiled with joy. She guessed Elsa was visiting early, though it appeared she decided to bring Anna along. That was a minor thing, but at least Elise got to see her twin again. Elise really enjoyed Elsa's company, more than she was willing to admit.

The smile lasted until Anna closed the door, alone. _Wait, where's Elsa? Oh no, this isn't good._  
  
"Or you could've successfully taken the throne?" Anna continued as she moved in on Elise. As she got closer, Elise could see tears at the brim of her eyes and she was breathing heavily. "Am I getting close, Elise?"

Elise didn't know what to say. She was too scared to stand up and now Anna hovered over her, visibly shaking.

 **Slap!**  
  
Elise winced at the pain that burned on the left side of her face. Anna had struck hard and without warning, knocking Elise onto her side. When she sat back up, tears were falling down Anna's face.

"Why? Why did you have to come here and do this to us?" Anna asked. It wasn't a question, it was a demand.

Elise opened her mouth to say something, but Anna never gave her a chance. "Do you know what you put me through? For the first time in weeks I was able to have a good night sleep and then you showed up. I've had nightmares every night since you showed up. Do you know what happens in my nightmares?"

This time Anna let Elise answer. "N-no."

"I lose her. I lose my sister over and over. Sometimes it's by Hans, sometimes by an angry mob, sometimes it's by her own hand." Anna paused and glared down at Elise. "And now it's you."

Elise winced as it dawned on her the full extent of how much she wronged Anna. "A-anna, I'm sorr-"

**Slap!**

This time Elise saw it coming and braced herself. It still hurt like hell though.

"How fucking dare you!" Anna yelled. She grabbed Elise by the collar and lifted her up. "You have no idea what you put me through. You have no right to apologize!" Anna shoved her back down on the cot and took a few steps back. "And now you're all she thinks about," she said, voiced significantly lowered as if she was afraid to say it.

Elise was stunned and felt terrible. She turned her gaze away, refusing to look at Anna, but wait, what had she meant about that last part? Elise peaked in Anna's direction, but found that she had turned around facing the door.

It was probably the best time to say this, while she wasn't looking. "Anna, y-you have to understand. I didn't...I didn't mean this. I-I screwed up, I screwed up so bad." Tears started forming in her eyes. "I wish I could take it all back."

Elise paused when Anna took a deep breath. She turned back around, tears no longer falling, her face emotionless, her eyes staring into Elise.

"I don't know why, but Elsa actually likes you," Anna finally said, though it sounded more like she was admitting it to herself.

_Wait, she does?_

"I really don't understand what she sees in you." A spark of hope burned in Elise's mind.

_Perhaps this can be fixed after all. Maybe Elsa will forgive me?_

"She says she feels sorry for you, that she reminds you of herself."

_Oh God, I really don't deserve her. But I have to show her that I'm different, that I'm not the girl that tried to kill her. First I'm going to apologize even if it means I have to get on my hands and knees and beg for forgiveness._

Elise was knocked out of her thoughts when Anna leaned in closer. "Listen to me though. I will protect her from you, do you understand me? I will do anything to protect her from you."

Elise swallowed and nodded nervously. She wasn't going to get very far with Elsa though, as long as she was on Anna's bad side. Elise didn't really like Anna, she didn't hate her, but she didn't like her either. And if she wasn't so beside herself right now, she'd probably give Anna a taste of her own medicine. Then again, Elise had to be grateful that Anna knocked her out before she could harm Elsa.

Elise looked down at the floor. Maybe if she let Anna know this…

"Thank you," Elise whimpered. The tears were starting to fall now.

"Excuse me?" Anna asked narrowing her eyes.

"Thank you for stopping me from hurting Elsa."

Anna was taken back. With a huff, she spun around and moved to the door.

"Anna, you have to believe me. I didn't mean any of this." Elise was sobbing now. "I just want my sister. I just want to part of your family, I don't want to be alone anymore."

Anna paused as she swung the door open. She turned her head over her shoulder. "No one wants to love a monster," she spat and slammed the door closed.

That word hit Elise directly in the heart. She didn't move for several minutes, she just sat there staring straight ahead with tears silently falling down her cheeks. She finally allowed herself to fall onto the cot and curl up into a ball.

"I'm not a monster," she whispered to herself before bursting into sobs. By the time she cried herself to sleep, her tears had frozen solid to her face.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Mig and Road for helping with this chapter.
> 
> Sorry for the delay. I wanted to get this out sooner, but this chapter took long to write/edit. Good news though, I'm almost chapter 5 so the next update shouldn't take as long.
> 
> By the way, I try to keep as historically accurate as I can, but there's going to be things I miss or get wrong. I also take some liberties with certain things. One of which is the introvert personality archetype. The guy who came up with the introvert/extrovert archetype theory won't even be born until 33 years after this fic takes place.
> 
> Also I should point out that history/the past always finds a way to right itself if you try to change it. Just keep that in mind for things to come.
> 
> Finally I'd like to point out and make it clear that the two cases of Elsa having jealous thoughts about Anna are two completely separate non-connected situations. The second one is a result of Elsa consuming too much alcohol, as I pointed out Elsa get's jealous and attention seeking when she drinks. The first one is a result of her mind wandering off and I have three reasons to explain why it briefly wandered in that direction in case you were wondering.
> 
> One, I wanted to emphasize that despite being an introvert, Elsa is still human and thus not immune to envy because let's be serious, Elsa is probably getting real tired of being alone all the time. The second reason is that one of the reasons why was unoccupied during the tour was because no one was paying attention to her so it wouldn't be a far stretch to claim Elsa's wandering mind wouldn't touch on the topic of "why isn't anyone paying attention to me" especially as the tour dragged on and Elsa's annoyance grew. That kind of runs into the third reason, that Elsa isn't used to not being the center of attention. Elsa is the Queen and when she is actually around groups of people, she's always the center of attention. Now she's in a group of people who care little about royalty and in a situation that doesn't put her at the center of attention so again it's no surprise that her wandering mind would touch on that. But I'm not saying Elsa likes being the center of attention or wants to be the center of attention at all, just that being the center of attention is what Elsa is used to. It's almost like second nature to be at the center of attention for her.
> 
> Now that I think about it though, the two situations kind of are connected in that it takes extreme situations to bring out her envious feelings - alcohol consumption and extreme boredom being the two extreme cases in this chapter.
> 
> Anyway thanks for reading. If you have any other questions about my personalization of the character feel free to ask.


	6. The Monster That I Was

It was a beautiful late autumn day in Arendelle. The sun was shining, the air was cool, and the fjord waters still, a far cry from the winter storm that passed through at the beginning of the week. It was the perfect time to be outside before winter truly settled in. Though Anna was grateful to be outside of the castle, she really wanted to get off this stupid ship already.

Earlier today, Anna had been bouncing up and down with excitement for this tour. She had never seen a steamship up close before and she thoroughly enjoyed seeing the smokestack and sidewheel up close. This time, unfortunately, the center of attention was on Elsa and when the Americans found out she had a knack for architecture and fine details, they quickly refocused their tour to accommodate and impress the Queen. That left Anna very bored as the group moved among the lower decks.

 _This is taking forever, why is this boat so big? My feet hurt. I want to go home and play with Olaf, whenever he comes home with Kristoff._ Anna knew the American steam frigate wasn't 'big' in the grand scale of things though, it just happened to be the biggest she'd ever been on (the Royal Arendellen Navy's largest ship was only a brig). _At least Elsa is enjoying herself, my poor sister is always working-_

Anna stopped when she reached a dead end. She looked around, but the passage was devoid of anyone but herself.

"Whoops, maybe I should have been paying attention," she said to herself upon realizing that she was lost. She started formulating a plan in her head. The ship wasn't that big, it wouldn't take them long to find her...but Elsa was going to be furious when they got back to the castle. Wait, but Elsa didn't know she was gone yet. Anna learned the hard way that when her sister started going on about her favorite hobby, she never shut up about it. She had almost regretted asking Elsa about her love for architecture a few days after they were reunited. She must have still been preoccupied with talking about the ship's detailing and design otherwise she never would have let Anna wander off in the first place.

So, Elsa didn't know. The deck and bulkheads hadn't even frosted over. Anna still had time, she could go find the group, slip back in, and pretend she was never gone. First, she had to remember where they were going. That handsome translator said something about going to see the...steam engine! Anna remembered now, they were on their way to see the steam engine. So, she had to meet them there.

She turned around to begin her search, but did a double take when she noticed a word written on one of the doors that lined the barren passageway. It read "Storeroom" in English. She studied the word carefully.

"Hmm, that looks like steam to me." Anna grabbed the handle and opened the door. The room was dark, but the light filtering in from the passageway was enough for Anna to tell that this was in fact not the way to the steam engine.

"Oh, it's a storeroom," she corrected herself. "Ooh, I wonder if they have any chocolate in here?" Curiosity got the better of her and she grabbed one of the hanging lanterns in the passageway then went back into the storeroom to search.

In the light, Anna could tell this wasn't the kind of storeroom that stored food. It was a little messy and filled with what appeared to be medical supplies. "Let's see what we got here." Anna focused on a large demijohn that caught her eye. It was labeled "Turpentine" in English. "Ooh, I wonder if this is somebody's wine stash?" She picked it up and opened it. It was definitely not wine, it smelled terrible.

"Wait, what am I doing? I need to get back before Elsa finds out I'm gone." Anna closed the demijohn and placed it back onto the shelf. She only managed to turn halfway around when she heard it slip off the shelf and shatter on the floor.

"Uh oh," Anna said when she saw the mess. She slowly backed out of the storeroom.

Anna never made it out. Her foot caught a bundle of cloth lying on the messy floor and sent her sprawling onto her back with a yelp. The lantern she'd been carrying flew out of her hands, into the air, and landed on the deck in front of her.

* * *

Elsa was enjoying herself immensely. When their tour had started, she had other things on her mind, like her date—er meeting—with Elise later that night. She didn't care much for the tour, she agreed to it for Anna's sake though the ship did impress her. And make her jealous, jealous that Arendelle didn't have one of these.

It was only until the ship's engineer mentioned something about the ship's construction that got Elsa hooked. She asked one detailed architectural question about the ships design and next thing she knew their tour took a very interesting turn that focused on naval architecture and structural design rather than an overview focus that it was before. Elsa was overjoyed with this sudden change, everyone else in her party maybe not so much.

"So, as you can see your majesty, this is why the Brooklyn Navy Yard had to choose this arrangement," the ship's engineer said in English. Elsa had inquired about the layout of the steam engine in relation to the storage of its fuel, which she had insisted on seeing and thus why her once regal blue outfit, porcelain skin, and platinum blonde hair were now stained with coal dust. It had only been a day and the Americans had already given up on letting themselves be surprised by the young Queen.

"Ah, I see now, that make's sense. I vas vondering though, vhat...uh...vood...uh," Elsa started in English before giving up and turning to the translator. "I was wondering what type of wood these door frames are made out of," she finished in Norwegian. Elsa had dropped the translator soon after getting into the tour, preferring to talk to the engineer directly in English. He was still useful though, for times like this. If Elsa hadn't been high on excitement right now, she probably would have started hyperventilating at the mere thought of messing up in front of these people.

"Oh, that would be-"

**Ringringrinringringringringringringrinringringringringring!**

Elsa saw both the Captain and Engineer's eyes go wide at the sudden bell ringing. A sailor ran into the room before either of them could react.

"Capt' a fire broke out in one of the storerooms. It's already spreading fast," the sailor said. Elsa noticed something else was wrong though.

_Wait, where's Anna?_

"Get the Queen and Princess off the ship now!" Captain Hill ordered. Elsa gasped as a hand grabbed her arm and started forcefully pulling her to the exit.

"Wait, wait, where's Anna? Where's my sister?" Elsa turned to see who was pulling her. It was Admiral Hoffman. If Elsa wasn't so distracted with Anna's whereabouts, she probably would have frozen his hand as a reflex.

Elsa could see it in his face before he even answered causing her eyes to flash with panic. "I don't know, your majesty."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Elsa ripped herself out of Admiral Hoffman's grasp and took off in the opposite direction, deeper into the ship.

"Elsa, wait!" She could hear him yelling at her as she ran down the passage way. She turned a corner and hit a wall of smoke. She had to keep going though and pushed on, coughing as the smoke entered her lungs.

Elsa made it to the end of the passageway and grabbed the door frame for support. That's when she heard her over a fit of coughing.

"Elsa, help! Elsa, please help!"

_Anna!_

Elsa ran towards the voice until she found her little sister coughing on her hands and knees.

"I'm here Anna, I'm going to get you out of here." With all the strength she could muster, Elsa lifted Anna back onto her feet and led her back towards the exit. "Everything's going to be okay."

A thought crossed Elsa's mind that maybe she should use her magic to blast her way out of here, but before she could even get a chance to raise her hand Elsa heard the cracking of the deck above as broken and burning wood fell down on them. With her last ounce of strength, Elsa managed to throw Anna aside as a beam of wood came crashing down. She managed to see Anna out of harm's way as a beam fell down and struck her in the head. Elsa's vision turned black, her last thoughts were of Anna's safety and hoping that she wouldn't be meeting her in death anytime soon.

* * *

Anna spun around as soon as she hit the deck. There was nothing behind her but a wall of burning wood.

"ELSA!"

Anna tried going back, but she kept getting farther away.

"ELSA!"

Suddenly, Anna realized what was happening. She was being pulled away by someone and he was talking to her.

"...the ship is lost. If you don't get out here now, you'll die," he said. Anna recognized him as one of the Marines from yesterday. Apparently he spoke Norwegian. It didn't matter to Anna though. She kept struggling and screaming, she had to get back to Elsa. But the Marine kept pulling. She almost broke free when another set of hands joined in to pull her out.

Admiral Anved Hoffman was being pinned down by some American Marine on the last boat off the _USS Missouri_ when Captain Hill and the other Marine emerged from the inferno carrying a screaming Princess Anna. He gulped, that was only one of the two. Queen Elsa was still missing.

"Sailor, get us out of here," Captain Hill ordered as he and the Marine dragged Anna into the boat. The two sailors with the oars started rowing away.

"NO, I NEED TO GO BACK FOR ELSA," Anna was screaming and kicking hysterically, tears were flowing out of her eyes like waterfalls. "WAIT, PLEASE, MY SISTER."

"Sarge, get over here and help us hold her down." Anved heard the Marine holding back Anna ask the Marine pinning him down in English. Anved didn't understand what he said, but it got the Marine off of him.

Captain Hill and the two Marines were too busy handling Anna to notice the Arendellen Admiral slip off the boat and back onto the burning wreck that was once the _USS Missouri_. Admiral Anved Hoffman had lost two members of the royal family to the sea already. He was never going to allow the sea to take another one again.

* * *

Elise was still barely over her encounter with Anna from last night. She had awoken in the morning with iced-tear covered cheeks and the moment the servants left her alone again she had cried herself back to sleep. Elise finally got up for good and now her anticipation for tonight was growing.

Elsa was supposed to visit and Elise could not wait any longer. The only thing on her mind since waking up was Elsa. Anna's words still played out in her head. Elsa actually like her. Elise needed her now, she needed Elsa here to reassure her, to tell her the she was not in fact a monster. She needed Elsa to tell her that she loved her.

Elise was ready to do anything for it. To get down on her hands and knees and beg for forgiveness from Elsa. She was even ready to forgive Anna's visit if it meant appeasing Elsa. That would be a big step for her because if Elsa didn't cherish her younger sister so much, Elise would have considered cutting Anna's throat the moment she got of this cell.

No, she would live with Anna if it meant being with Elsa. Elsa was so very much worth it. Elsa was perfect.

Elise closed her eyes trying to picture her twin. Elise thought she herself looked beautiful, but Elsa just topped it. That long almost-white hair, Elise could only imagine what it would like down and unbraided. And it was in such contrast to Elise's own short pitch-black hair. Even their faces were sharply contrasted even though they technically had identical faces. When Elise looked at Elsa's face she didn't see herself, she saw a whole different person. Elsa's face, especially her eyes, always radiated love and caring at least when she wasn't wearing that stupid emotionless mask. Elise's on the other hand was always stern and intimidating. And then there was Elsa's awkward smile. It was as if Elsa didn't know how to smile, which was actually quite possible. It made her look so timid, yet so adorable.

_Wait, what am I doing? Adorable? Really, Elise?_

Of course, Elise thought Elsa was beautiful, but maybe she was taking it too far. After all they were sisters...

A strange commotion coming from the window startled Elise out of her stupor and she realized she'd been sitting in the same spot staring at the same wall since she had gotten up. She moved to get better view out the window, a bad feeling slowly developing in her gut. Elise's breath caught in her throat at the sight of smoke and fire rising from that steamship, the bad feeling having transformed into full blown terror.

Elsa was on that ship. Elise didn't know how, but in that moment she knew Elsa was on that ship and in grave danger.

Elise didn't pause to ponder on how she knew, she had to get out of here and help Elsa now.

She glanced down at her hands, her brow knitting in concentration, all her thoughts and will power focused on getting Elsa to safety.

Queen Elsa's 'unbreakable' manacles started gathering frost…

* * *

By the time the small boat reached the docks, Anna's struggling and screaming had subsided from fatigue. It still took all the effort of the two Marines to drag her onto the dock however.

Chancellor Jakobsen came running through the horde of wounded sailors that covered the dock when he spotted Anna on the last boat. "Where is the Queen? Where is Queen Elsa?" He stopped short when he saw the state Anna was in.

"The Queen is still on the ship," Minister Herbert answered from Jakobsen's right. He had been attending to an injured sailor.

"Captain, what happened?" the Minister asked turning to the Captain. Captain Hill just shook his head.

Jakobsen didn't need to understand English to know what that meant. He approached the Princess, shooing away the Marines that still held on to her. He wondered how life could be so cruel to someone as sweet and innocent as the Princess.

"Please, you have to go back for her. Please, she's my sister I can't lose her," Anna pleaded between sobs. She tried moving to the water again, but Jakobsen held her back. "Let me go, I need to go back for her."

"Anna, listen to me," he commanded. "We can't go back, the ship is completely engulfed in flames. I'm sorry, but..."

"Where is Admiral Hoffman?" one of the Marines interrupted in Norwegian looking around the dock.

"Wait, Admiral Hoffman must've gone back for her. He got her out, we just have to go back to pick them up!" Anna cried out enthusiastically. No one had the heart to directly tell Anna that Elsa was dead.

Captain Hill and Minister Herbert exchanged a few words in English, then Herbert spoke to them in Norwegian. "We can't get near the ship, when the fire reaches the powd-"

**Boom!**

The _USS Missouri_ disappeared in a fiery explosion, but it was the shriek from Anna that got to Chancellor Jakobsen as she collapsed in his arms.

* * *

"Oh God, this is all my fault. Elsa no..." she whimpered.

Anna's world fell apart. All her nightmares had come true. Elsa was gone. Anna should have known it was all too good to be true when she finally got Elsa back. And it had all been her fault.

Anna felt completely detached from the world, not even realizing Jakobsen had put her down or hearing the words being spoken around her. But she did hear one thing though. It was in English, but Anna still recognized that word even in a foreign language.

_Ice._

Anna's head shot up so fast she felt dizzy, but she didn't let that deter her. She quickly noticed what was suddenly attracting everyone's attention. A large chunk of ice floated in the harbor, not far from where the wreck of the ships slipped below the waves.

"Get that chunk of ice now!" she screamed, although the two Marines, several sailors, and guards were already in a boat rowing towards it.

* * *

Practically everyone held their breath as the chunk of ice was attached to the boat and towed back. Chancellor Jakobsen could see Anna shaking with anticipation, though her tears were still flowing steadily. Jakobsen couldn't make out anyone on the ice as it got closer. Maybe she was inside it? Jakobsen hoped so, for Anna's sake more than anything else.

The men on the boat were rowing at impressive speed and they got back to the dock quickly. Anna was by its side the moment they arrived.

"Break it open! Someone break it open now!" Anna demanded as the sailors and guards secured the floating ice to the dock. Two men approached with axes and started hacking away. Within a few blows, a large section caved revealing a hollowed out center. Jakobsen shoved the guards out of the way to get a look inside for himself. Anna was already through the hole by the time he even got a chance to see inside.

Jakobsen released a sigh of relief at the sight. Elsa was alive, though he hadn't expected the other two bodies that were in the cavity with her. Elsa was sprawled out in the middle, barely conscious, with Anna sobbing on top of her. She kept repeating "I'm so sorry" over and over again. He was slightly curious what she meant by that, but it wasn't the time nor place to care.

Admiral Hoffman was sitting upright next to them practically coughing his lungs out. He looked fine, except for his hands which appeared severely burned. Actually now that Jakobsen thought about it, Elsa didn't even have a burn on her.

As for the third occupant, he had no idea who that black-haired girl lying next to Elsa was. In fact no one on the dock knew who she was. Like Elsa, she appeared completely unburned, but her clothes weren't singed like Elsa's. It actually looked like parts of it were...melted. In fact, it reminded Jakobsen of Elsa's ice dresses.

There was an audible gasp from everyone who could see into the ice chunk when the black-haired girl shifted and revealed her face.

"This must be Princess Elise," Admiral Hoffman spoke up when he finally managed to get control of his breathing. Everyone but the council members present were hopelessly confused.

Her eyes half opened and when they fell on Anna, her mouth opened in an attempt to form words. "...N-not…mo…mon…" Eventually she gave up and slipped back into unconsciousness along with Elsa.

When they tried to carry the three royals back to the castle, the guards were forced to pry Anna off of Elsa. Elise was holding Elsa's hand in an unconscious death grip. They tried to pry them apart too, but gave up when the twin's hands froze over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Road and Mig for the help as always.
> 
> See, what did I tell you? The past always finds a way. In case you you didn't look it up before, the actual USS Missouri caught fire and exploded in Gibraltar on August 25th, 1843 while on a diplomatic mission en route to China. So it happened a little early, but it still happened. You can look it up yourself, but make sure you specify the 1841 or steam frigate USS Missouri otherwise you'll just get the battleship USS Missouri and Pearl Harbor references. The Wikipedia page is actually legit, the source can be seen at the very bottom under references. It's a dot mil site.
> 
> While I was typing this, I suddenly I realized I should actually look up the weather of Arendelle (I consider the Arendelle of this fic to be around Bergen, Norway). So "the air was cool" line is kind of bullshit because it's actually supposed to be in the high 30s °F (not to mention it was probably cooler in the 19th century then it is now). I just took the liberty and kept it as a "cool" late autumn (like late November) day because I started the fic with the intention it wasn't quite winter yet. I blame the movie itself for that with all it's talk about summer, it skewed my perceptions. I won't make a big deal out if it though, but I apologize if I ruined your immersion.
> 
> I'm sure Bergen doesn't consider 30s °F winter though, but I'm pretty sure it is to the average reader.
> 
> Anyway thanks for reading. I'm not going to beg for reviews, but don't hesitate to ask about something.
> 
> Edit: If forgot to mention, the whole scene in the storeroom was meant to be social commentary about how you shouldn't leave storerooms in a mess and store hazmat in bad places you shouldn't on naval ships. So keep your storerooms clean, squids. And yeah, I'm talking to you, you asshole Culinary Specialists.


	7. Aftermath

Elsa shot upright when she finally regained consciousness later that night. Her eyes darted around the room frantically searching her surroundings. She had no idea where she was or what had happened, the last thing she remembered was the fire.

Only when Elsa realized she was safe in her room did she try to calm her heavy breathing. But when she finally calmed down was when the pain hit. Her head was throbbing, causing her to remember the burning wood that had struck her. Now, Elsa was starting to remember everything. The tour, the fire, trying to save Anna... Elsa remembered seeing Anna and shoving her out of the way when the beam fell. She was safe. How, she wasn't sure, but she could faintly remember seeing Anna after the fire. All she could remember between getting knocked out and now was Anna crying over top of her while fading in and out of consciousness.

Aside from her memory, the sniffling coming from the sleeping body that had been pressed up against her right side assured her that Anna was safe. Elsa looked down on her left and finally saw Anna asleep. She looked like she'd been crying for hours and by the sound of the remnant sniffling Elsa wasn't surprised. Thinking about it made Elsa's heart clench, poor Anna's emotions had been-

 _Wait!_ Anna wasn't even close to her. And she wasn't on her right side either. The sudden realization made Elsa reflexively scoot to the left and shoot her head to her right to get a look at the other body that was in her bed.

Elsa gasped when she saw her black-haired twin. It was only then that she realized her right hand had been attached to Elise's own hand. It was a little sore, but it wasn't as bad the throbbing pain in her head.

Elsa was remembering more now. She remembered seeing Elise lying next to her on top of the ice before Anna showed up. Elise must have saved her. It was the only explanation on how she got out of that ship alive. Elsa wasn't sure how Elise had gotten out of the cell though.

"She saved you." Anna's voice rose from the bed behind her confirming Elsa's theory. "I thought you were dead. I thought I lost you again and then she saved you."

"Oh, Anna, I'm sorry," Elsa said turning around and grabbing Anna's body in the tightest hug she could.

"No, Elsa, I'm sorry. This was my fault." Elsa was confused when Anna slid out from under her and sat up, her eyes brimming with tears.

"I really messed up this time, Elsa." Anna looked ready to break down, but Elsa was still confused.

"Anna, what happened? Tell me, please?" Elsa pleaded. More tears started flowing and Anna told her everything.

"Oh God, Elsa, I'm so sorry. I don't know what's going to happen now. I'm so scared," she finished.

Elsa grabbed Anna in another hug. "Shh, Anna it's going to be okay. I'll fix this, okay? All what matters now is that you're safe," Elsa assured her while running her hand up and down Anna's back. "I'll go fix this right now."

Elsa let go of Anna and tried getting up, but Anna grabbed her arms and forced her back down. "No, stay here," she cried out softly. "Chancellor Jakobsen said he would handle it until morning. He said you should get some sleep first. He's arranged a meeting with the Americans in the morning, but in the meantime he thinks you should stay in bed."

Judging by the dim light coming through her window, Elsa judged it was already evening. Elsa wasn't going to argue, she'd rather sleep her headache off anyway.

"How bad is it?" Elsa asked. She needed to know so the question wouldn't keep her up for the rest of the night.

"Well, the ship is gone," Anna answered. "It exploded."

Exploded? That was bad. Elsa could tell the ship was going to be a complete loss anyway, but exploded was bad. "I figured it was."

"But no one was killed, so that's a good thing," Anna added seemingly to assure herself more than Elsa.

Elsa breathed a sigh of relief. That was fantastic news actually. "Thank Heavens. Anna, this is bad, real bad, but the fact that no one was killed makes this so much better." Anna still averted her eyes from Elsa's own out of shame. At least the tears stopped though.

"Wait, Anna, who else knows about this? I mean, your involvement."

"Oh, just the higher up people on both sides. Chancellor Jakobsen made sure no one outside the Council found out," Anna answered timidly. "Minister Herbert did the same for the American delegation." That was more good news, but Elsa wasn't sure how long that would last. People would start asking questions and would wonder how it all happened.

"Anna, we got really lucky, but there's going to be repercussions. Do you understand that?" Anna nodded her head, her eyes glued on the bed below her. "After I get this sorted out tomorrow we'll discuss this in more detail and I'm going to have to figure out some kind of punishment. Okay?" Again, Anna just nodded without looking up. Elsa didn't want to do this, but she knew she had to.

Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna for the third time to assure her. "We're going to get through this. I promise." Now that everything with Anna was settled until morning, Elsa was itching to face her other, still sleeping, sister. Elsa let go of Anna, who was still pouting, and crawled to the other side of the bed where Elise slept.

"She wouldn't let go of you," Anna said behind her. "When they tried pulling you two apart, both your hands froze over." That explained why Elsa's hand felt sore. The last part though, made Elsa blush and stop short of waking Elise. Her hand hovered over Elise's shoulder in preparation to nudge her twin awake. Elsa wasn't sure what to think about the frozen hands. It sounded sweet, something sisterly, but Elsa feared these underlying feelings of hers were really at fault.

She shook the thought off and continued on. Now was not the time. She gently nudged Elise's shoulder a few times until she got a response in the form of a gurgled mumble and Elise shifting her body and head to face Elsa. Before Elsa knew it, she was staring down into curious blue eyes.

Elsa was suddenly overcome with nervousness. She had no idea what she was going to say, the words were stuck in her throat, and Elsa was becoming very aware that both Elise and Anna sitting behind her were waiting for Elsa to say something.

"Hi," was all she managed to get out. _Smooth move, Elsa._

Elsa felt worse when Elise snorted and smiled. Not a split second later though, Elsa was caught off guard and let out a yelp when Elise sprung up and pinned her down onto the bed in a tight embrace, burying her face into the crook of Elsa's neck. Elsa flushed deeply, both equally abashed over Elise's body being on top of hers and happy that Elise couldn't see her face. It only got worse when Elise's body started shuddering. _Wait, was she crying?_

Yes, Elise was definitely crying now. Anna's concerned face appeared in Elsa's vision over the top of both of them, but before she could do or say anything, Elise started speaking.

"I'm so sorry, Elsa, please forgive me. I didn't mean it. I swear I didn't mean any of this," Elise cried out into Elsa's neck, the vibration sending a shudder through her body. "I-I'm sorry please, please, please forgive me. I'll do anything to prove it to you. Anything you ask."

"Elise, calm down," Elsa said patting her back. "You don't have to prove anything."

"What?" Elise pushed herself off Elsa to look directly into Elsa's face.

"Yes, Elise," Elsa answered, propping herself up on her elbows. "You don't have to prove anything. You're my sister and I know that you truly didn't mean me any harm. You were just confused and lost, but you're here now and the past is behind us. And after what you did today," Elise flushed at the reminder, "I owe you my life. I can't thank you enough for saving me."

"Yeah, Elise," Anna chimed in, "you have no idea how grateful I am for what you did. I thought I lost Elsa for good out there. I guess I have to take back what I said to you last night," Anna said while scratching the back her head. Elsa wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but it was probably best to ask later.

Elise sat straight up now and looked stunned at both their apologetic admissions, Elsa wasn't sure if Elise was completely convinced so Elsa continued. "Elise, if it wasn't for you, I would be dead and Anna would have lost me for good. What you did today, I can never fully repay."

Elise still looked nervous if the wringing of her hands was anything to go by. "So, I don't have to go back to that cell?" she asked with a shaky voice.

Elsa smiled, _was that what was bothering her?_ "Of course not, Elise. You will never go back there and I should have never put you there in the first place." Elsa was too focused on Elise, so she wasn't sure what Anna just did with her eyes, but Elsa could have guessed it was something negative. Was Anna still not convinced about Elise? "Tomorrow though, you will have to tell me all about the details of your heroic rescue, especially how you managed to break out of that cell."

Elise finally managed to smile. "Oh, good, and yeah, I'll tell you all about it if you want." The smiled disappeared again though, something else was bothering her. "Can I...can I be part of your family too?"

Elsa burst out laughing. Elise looked mortified so Elsa sat up and dragged Elise back down next to her and tousled her hair. "You are a part of this family, silly. You don't have to ask."

Elise breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, I was just nervous that you wouldn't..." Elise trailed off.

"Wouldn't what? Accept you? Elise don't be ridiculous, you're our sister." Elsa cut in.

"Yeah, you're right, I was just...you know, afraid."

"I know what you mean. Don't worry though, sister, you've," a yawn interrupted Elsa, "got us now. But I think maybe we should get some rest, what do you two think?" Elise and Anna both nodded.

"Elsa, can I-"

"Yes, Anna you can sleep in here," Elsa interrupted while working her way under the covers.

"Yay!" Anna joined her sister while blowing out the lamp on her side of the bed. Elise didn't move however.

"Uhm, should I go?" Elise finally asked. Elsa rolled her eyes.

"Nope, tonight you sleep with us," she said while pulling up the covers to give her twin access.

"Hey, Elise, I meant to ask, what were you trying to say out on the docks today?" Anna questioned while Elise climbed in.

Several seconds went by without Elise answering, causing Elsa's curiosity to rise. "I…I was trying to tell you…I wasn't a monster," she finally said, her voice almost a whisper by the end. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room.

Elsa couldn't see Elise's face in the now dark room, but she didn't want to imagine what it looked like. Instead she shuffled up to Elise and wrapped her arms around her, pulling their bodies up against each other. She pressed their cheeks together and felt silent tears.

With Elise in her arms, and eventually Anna nuzzled up against her back, Elsa fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Elsa had woken up before the break of dawn, leaving her two still-sleeping sisters. She had plenty of work to do, but didn't want to disturb either of them so she let them sleep in, despite them sleeping for a half day. It gave Elsa the opportunity to meet with her advisers to plan a course of action before the early meeting with the Americans. It also gave her the opportunity to catch up on everything that had transpired since yesterday. She had found out that indeed no one had been killed as a result of the accident. The knowledge of Anna's involvement was still secure and the wreckage of the ship posed a navigation hazard and was going to have to be removed. The survivors were being housed in the naval base as a gesture of good will and as it stood they would be staying there until a ship arrived from America to pick them up. Elsa didn't intend to reverse that order.

Before she knew it, the time for the meeting had arrived. After relaying a specific set of instructions to Gerda for Anna and Elise when they woke up, Elsa arrived at the conference room. Thankfully, everyone was already there, but Elsa wasn't late, it was customary for the others to arrive well before the Queen. Her own people looked like they hadn't slept. The Americans on the other hand looked well rested. That was going to give them the advantage, though at least Elsa was well rested herself. In fact, it was one of her best nights of sleep she had in weeks. Too bad it was already ruined by stress the moment she woke up.

After the exchange of greetings and courtesies, Elsa began. "Gentleman, let me begin by offering my deepest apologies for the actions of my sister, Princess Anna. I intend to take full responsibility for her actions and as a result, request that any repercussions be directed at me instead of her. However, I want to make it clear that the actions of the royal family do not reflect that of Arendelle as a whole and I plead that you do not look down on the people of Arendelle as a result of this incident. I will have a formal apology written out to President Tyler and to your Congress immediately." Elsa finished up her monologue with building anxiety. How the Americans would respond would determine the course of this entire meeting and Arendelle's reputation.

The response Elsa got was not part of any of her contingency plans. "Queen Elsa, we thank you for the apology, but none of that is necessary," Minister Herbert responded calmly and without malice. Elsa was struck with confusion, too much for her normally impenetrable mask to conceal. "Let me explain, your majesty," he continued in response to her now widened eyes. "As you know, very few people are aware of how this unfortunate accident happened in the first place. We are willing to make a deal with you, Queen Elsa, which would exclude Princess Anna's involvement from the official report. This would be a deal that's separate from the conference that we came here for and if you agree to this deal, the knowledge of Arendelle's involvement in the accident will be barred from the negotiation process. In fact, it will have no effect on our relations; we will simply pretend it didn't happen."

Elsa was too taken aback to think of an immediate response. She felt surprised, relieved, and outraged all at the same. Surprised that they would make such an offer, relieved that she had a way of expunging Anna's involvement, and outraged that they were trying to take advantage of this tragedy not even a day after it happened. Elsa was well aware all eyes were trained in on her impassive face as they waited in anticipation for her to say something.

She never felt smaller and more powerless though. This was basically extortion and everyone knew it, though Elsa was aware it could be worse. At least they were willing to offer her something in return.

Elsa was willing to do anything for Anna though. She knew what she had to do. "Fine," Elsa finally said, a little too snappy than she intended. "What do you want from us?"

"Actually, it's what we want from you specifically, your majesty." Elsa gulped. She had a bad feeling about this. "First though, let me introduce you to a friend of ours, Mr. George Shaw," Minister Herbert said indicating to one of the men at the table.

What? Elsa didn't recognize him from the delegation and hadn't even noticed him when she came in. She discreetly peeked around the room to make sure there weren't any more surprises waiting for her. Thankfully, there were none.

"Mr. Shaw, here, is what we like to call an entrepreneur in the shipping industry," Minister Herbert continued before pausing. "Recently, though, he wishes to get involved in the ice business."

Elsa visibly pouted in defeat the moment the word "ice" left his mouth. So they _**were**_ after her ice. She had a very bad feeling about this indeed...

* * *

Elise sat uncomfortably in the Queen's private foyer of the conference room with Anna as the two of them waited. Elise's first morning in the royal family was hardly going well. She was rudely awoken by Anna's shoving and was disappointed to find that Elsa was already gone. Then that servant, Gerda, came in right before Elise could give Anna a verbal beat-down for waking her up and generally just being a bitch. Gerda informed the two that Elsa had orders for them to dress, eat, and then wait for Elsa's first break outside the conference room. Elsa had demanded that they not deviate from that plan at all and also insisted Elise not use her powers until she saw Elsa. Elise was worried over making Elsa mad, so she obliged.

Unfortunately, that meant Elise couldn't wear one of her ice dresses so here she sat in one of Elsa's outfits, a simple skirt, blouse, and bodice set up in different shades of blues. It almost matched Anna's, whose outfit was in greens. It was the first time Elise had worn real cloth in over a decade, it was very irritating. Worse was her hair. Gerda has insisted on fixing it up and Elise obliged again so not to irritate Elsa. Her bangs were now held up in a dark blue headband and her normally frozen spiked-hair fell down straight to her neck. Elise didn't even recognize herself.

At least she was in better shape than Anna, who had turned into a nervous wreck. Half-way through a silent breakfast, her glaring side glances and scowls towards Elise had given way to sheer panic and she left her food untouched. The situation must have finally dawned on her. No surprise it took that long, Elise did peg her as the rather slow type. In the past two hours they've been sitting here waiting, Anna had broken out in tears twice, probably a result of losing an internal battle with herself. So, now not only was Elise uncomfortable, she was also stuck in an awkward situation.

"Good morning, Princess Anna, Princess Elise," an older male voice cut through the silence, startling Elise. She turned to look and recognized him instantly. "I hope you two are well." It was the man she saved yesterday.

_Oh no, he's going to try talking to me to thank me._

"Good morning, Admiral," Anna answered, "I'm doing fine, just waiting on her majesty," she lied. Elise kept quiet.

"Well, that's good," he said turning to Elise. _Here it comes._ "Princess Elise, let me just say that I am in your debt. And I don't just mean for saving my life." _Huh?_ "I mean, for saving Queen Elsa. You may not be aware, but the former King and Queen lost their lives to the sea and I take full responsibility for that loss. I would rather die than lose Elsa to the sea as well. Thanks to you neither of that happened." Elise had not expected that.

He moved closer and dropped his voice so that only Elise could hear. "Not to mention neither the Princess nor Arendelle could afford to lose her, especially the Princess." Elise wasn't sure what to say, Gerda had actually advised her to avoid contact and suggested to not speak to anyone until she had lessons on proper etiquette. So, Elise stayed quiet.

The Admiral didn't seem to take offense to her silence and finally he stepped back. "I thank you, Princess Elise. Again, I am in you debt." He bowed to her, then to Anna, and then turned to leave the room. "Good day, your highnesses." On his way out, Elise saw him shoot a glance at Anna. She couldn't see his face, but from the way Anna winced, she could tell the Admiral blamed her for everything.

With him gone, Elise had time to think about the bandages she noticed on his hands. To a casual observer, they would suspect his injuries were a result of burns from fire. Elise knew better though. They were burns from cold. When Elise had arrived on the ship she had found him with Elsa trying to get away. At first glance, Elise thought of him as a coward trying to leave her behind, but quickly noticed he wasn't trying to escape, he was actually trying to get as close to the flames as possible. When Elise had approached her unconscious twin, she found out why. Elsa was cold, colder than Elise had ever felt. When she touched her body, it was the first time Elise had ever been too cold. Only when she decided to save the Admiral too did she notice his hands. He must have been trying to carry Elsa out until she got too cold for him to touch. Curious though, that their magic continued to protect their bodies even when they were unconscious. Elise wondered what else their magic could do that the twins didn't know about.

The doors to the conference room finally opened and a smiling Elsa stepped in. From the way Anna was acting earlier and the surprised look on her face now, Elise suspected Elsa wasn't supposed to be happy. Both Anna and Elise stood up, but Anna didn't hesitate to run over to her sister. Elise was temporarily shocked however, by Elsa's outfit. It was the same one she wore the night they first met. She must have loved that blue skirt and jacket to have multiple copies of it. The sight of it however, flooded Elise's mind with bad memories. She was going to have to get used to it because apparently Elsa liked it.

"Wow, Elise you look different," Elsa said, cutting through Elise's thoughts. She noticed Elsa was holding Anna's hands. Elise must've missed the entire exchange between the two sisters. "It's a good different." Anna and Elsa shared a knowingly glance before Elsa continued. "I almost didn't recognize you. You look beautiful though."

The compliment caused Elise to flush and avert her eyes. "Oh, thanks," she said while pushing some loose strands of hairs back behind her ear. "But I think I like my old style better."

"So, Elsa, w-what's going to happen now?" Anna asked still holding onto Elsa's hands. Elise was glad to have the attention off of her.

"Great news, Anna, you didn't do it."

Anna let go of Elsa's hands and backed away. "Wait, what?" Elise was equally confused. She sworn she had heard Anna confess to the ship's wreckage last night while she was "sleeping".

"Anna, I've made a deal with them. The official story is going to be that a yeoman spilled a demijohn of turpentine that eventually ignited the fire. Your involvement will never be known by anyone. And," Elsa added with excitement building up in her voice, "the incident will have no effect on Arendelle-American relations."

Elise literally jumped at the squeal that came from Anna. She was bouncing up and down with joy now, her braids flopping back and forth.

"Oh my God, Elsa, this is amazing!"

"I know right?"

Elise wasn't convinced though. "Wait, you said a deal. What was the deal?"

Anna slowed her bouncing until she stood still. "Yeah, Elsa, what do they get in return?"

Elsa was now purposely avoiding both of their eyes.

"Elsa, what did you do? Tell me, right now," Anna demanded, all her previous joy gone.

Elsa appeared to shrink down under Anna's demand. Elise was now starting to realize how much power Anna really had over the Queen. "I...agreed to use my...my..."

"Your what?" Anna demanded forcefully as Elsa trailed off.

Elsa sighed in defeat. "Iagreedtousemypowerstohelpthem," Elsa blurted out way too fast.

"No, you go back there right now and cancel this deal." Anna grabbed Elsa's collar and forced Elsa to face her directly. "You promised yourself, Elsa, that you would never use your powers for business. Don't do this to yourself just because of me please," Anna pleaded, tears now falling freely. _No powers for business?_ Elise wondered if Elsa used her powers at all.

"Anna, wait," Elsa said trying to smile and awkwardly failing. _She's so cute, if only this psychopath wasn't here balling her eyes out_. Elise thought about the act of 'balling her eyes out' and remembered last night. On second thought, maybe crying and being an emotional wreck ran in the family. _I wonder if our mother had as many breakdowns as the three of us._

"This is actually a really good deal," Elsa continued. "At first I thought they were going to take advantage of our situation, but they aren't. I would be stupid not to take their deal."

"Why?" Elsa's two sisters said in unison. Elise was very curious.

"Well, besides the obvious with you, Anna, I agreed to help out some entrepreneur they had brought along. He has some wild idea to load ships with ice, but not to transport ice, instead to transport food long distances."

"Don't they do that already?" Elise interrupted. She still didn't see what the big deal was.

"Well, yes, but the ships are still limited in range by the ice melting," Elsa answered. She was finally smiling for real at least. "My ice will take a long time to melt. Plus this guy has some crazy blueprints made up that will maximize food freshness and ice lifetime. Unfortunately, the only way to fill it with ice is by using my powers. I've agreed to outfit twenty ships with ice over the course of a few years and will make sure they stay filled for a period of ten years each. All done here in Arendelle of course."

"And..." Elise prodded.

"Oh, right, they're going to pay for it. I guess to make it look like a legit deal, or maybe they're just afraid of me, I don't know and who cares, but they're paying me for it. Paying me a lot for it."

"How much?" Anna asked quietly.

"Enough to buy a couple of steam frigates of our own," Elsa said as she took Anna's hands in her own again. Elise couldn't believe how happy Elsa looked right now. If she got any more excited she might start bouncing up and down too.

"Whoa. All that just for some ice?"

"Not just some ice, this will give the Americans a huge advantage over everyone in trade. They'll be able to transport food to places no one could even dream of transporting too. I wouldn't be surprised if we're really the ones getting the short end of the deal here." Both sisters turned to look at Elise, surprised at what she had just said as if neither expected it. Elise was surprised herself at what she had said. Since when did she know anything about international politics and trade? Then again she had spent most of her time observing those exact things with her snow fairies.

"Anyway," Elsa said letting go of Anna and walking over to Elise. Anna obediently followed her. "It's almost time for me to return. We have to finalize this deal and then move on to the real negotiations. Before I go however," she turned to Anna, "I wish to inform you of your punishment." Anna pouted.

"You're not getting off the hook that easy, missy." That mask of hers was coming back up, Elsa was getting serious now. "First order of business, you are restricted to the castle for the next two days."

"But Kristoff-"

"I'm well aware Kristoff and Olaf will be returning tomorrow," Elsa cut off and Elise cocked an eyebrow questioningly. _Who?_ "You can meet them and spend time with them in the castle here."

Anna huffed and slouched her shoulders. "Fine."

"Second, beginning Monday, you will start lessons in diplomacy and politics."

"Wh-"

"Do not interrupt me again!" Elsa cut off, her tone becoming frigid, her eyes boring into Anna. "Do you understand?" Anna nodded hurriedly. "Good. Finally, for the rest of the day, you will begin integrating Elise into the life of royalty. I want you to break out the family tree and give her a lesson on family history. Try to give a few etiquette lessons along the way too. Got it?"

"Yes, sister," Anna said obediently. Elise liked this side of Elsa.

"Speaking of which," Elsa's said turning to Elise, her voice now calm and friendly. "I'm going to have Gerda and Kai give you etiquette lessons starting in a few days. You've met them both already, don't worry they're like our family. There'll be other lesson from tutors, but for now I want to get the basics out of the way. Unfortunately, there are obligations to being a Princess of Arendelle and you'll have to fulfill them." Elsa waited until Elise nodded in understanding before continuing. "As the oldest between you and Anna, you also hold the burden of being the heir to the throne until I designate an heir. That makes you the Crown Princess. When you're not at your lessons, I'm going to request that you join me in some of my duties. It will help you get into things faster and gain some experience."

Elise wasn't exactly thrilled with all this responsibility being forced upon her. _This is what you asked for wasn't?_ _It's time to take responsibility for your actions_. On the bright side, Elise would get to spend more time with Elsa.

"Elise, you're probably going to remain the Crown Princess. Unless Anna gets her act together," Elsa shot Anna a scowl, "because I'm going to be honest, I doubt I'm going to produce an heir of my own anytime soon."

"She's afraid to lose her virginity," Anna whispered to Elise. Elsa shot her another glare. Elise just blushed.

"I'm going to spend some more time with you tomorrow, I promise, Elise. I'm way too busy today. In the meantime, could you do me a huge favor?"

"Anything, Elsa."

"No magic today please, okay? I don't want anything happening."

 _Does Elsa not trust her? Or does she just not trust the magic?_ Elise wasn't sure. "Okay, I won't use it. I promise."

"Thank you, Elise," Elsa said and peeked at the clock. "I have to go. I'll see you two tonight. Good bye, my snowflakes." Elsa gave both of them a quick peck on the cheek and turned to go. "And get started on the lessons, Anna. Oh, and no fighting, I heard you two have been sore at each other since getting up. Gerda is watching you." And then she was gone.

_Snowflake?_

Anna had simply giggled at the pet name and kiss. Elise stood there stunned, her hand holding that spot on her cheek, her eyes staring at the closed door, her mind trying to make sense of what just happened.

_I need her so badly. What is this girl doing to me?_

Elise was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt Anna tug at her arm. "Come on, jerkface, we got work to do."

* * *

Ever since leaving Elsa's presence, the two sisters had been trading dirty looks and insults. Elise hadn't even made it to lunch time before she felt her ice starting to creep to the surface. She wasn't sure how she was going to stay in control much longer. That was until Gerda had pulled her aside and offered her a pair of gloves. The servant must have noticed the frost gathering around her hands. It was really no wonder why Elsa trusted her so much. Elise remembered how Elsa used the gloves to control her powers, so she decided to give it a try.

Elise was feeling much better now with these gloves on. Of course, Anna had calmed down since lunch, too. Maybe Anna just needed to eat because it wasn't like she ate anything at breakfast.

"So, that concludes the maternal side of our family." Anna said from in front of the giant chart displayed for Elise to see. For the rest of the day Anna had given Elise a crash course on the history of Arendelle. Now, she was going over their family history. It turned out that covered most of the royalty of Europe. Elise had observed Europe for years, but she had no idea how interconnected the royal families were. Elise now realized she was related to almost every member of royalty in Europe. It seemed her mother came from the House of Hohenzollern through Corona and her father came from the House of Glücksburg through the former Duchy of Arendelle.

"There are some rumors that our maternal grandmother, the late Queen Rapunzel of Corona, had magical powers, but they were never taken seriously." Anna paused before continuing. "Now, I doubt those rumors were only rumors." That wasn't a coincidence at all. Perhaps there was an explanation to their powers after. Elise would have to ask Elsa about this later if she remembered.

"Anyway, moving on to dad's side..." Elise was legitimately interested in this topic. Knowing the relationships between all these royals really filled in some gaps Elise had wondered about while observing the interactions among different nations for so many years. Everything was making sense now.

"...he was Papa's oldest brother, who had become King of the Southern Isles. He passed away a few years ago, so the current King is actually one of his sons, our cousin. He's the oldest of thirteens sons in fact." Anna started naming off the thirteen sons. Elise noticed her speaking started picking up speed. She stopped short at the twelfth son. "Anyway, apparently Papa had a falling out with his brother, something to do with him leaving the family to marry into the Southern Isles throne. I mean it was a good thing I guess because otherwise Papa wouldn't have inherited Arendelle, but-"

"Wait, slow down, Anna," Elise interrupted, using her hands to mimic her words. "I thought you said there were thirteen sons, you only named twelve." Anna's smile dropped and her eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything.

Elise peaked at the chart in front of her, trying to locate the final name. There it was.

_Hans._

Elise giggled. "Oh, that Hans." Anna's eyes only narrowed further.

Elise composed herself. "No, but seriously, did you not know you were cousins?"

Anna's face contorted in confusion. "What? No, not at the time. Why does that matter though?"

"He's your first cousin."

"So?"

"Riiight, I get it now. Please, continue." Anna looked at Elise like she had two heads and continued on.

_Seems like incest is the norm with these people. I wonder how deep it goes?_

_Why does that matter?_ a distant, perhaps more rational, part of Elise's mind questioned.

_Maybe because I think Elsa's cute and I want to kiss her right on those lips._

_What!?_ Elise's eyes widened at her own thoughts. Why was she thinking like this?

"Hey, are you paying attention?" Anna's voice cut through her introspection. Thank God, all this incest talk must be getting to her head. It was probably best to pay attention and keep out of her mind.

"Sorry, I was just thinking. I won't wander off again, teacher." Anna let the snide remark slip by and continued with her lesson.

* * *

Elise's lessons with Anna had dragged on until dinner time. After dinner, Gerda had led the two Princesses to a room in the wing where the royal family took up residence. It was Elsa's old room, the door still adorned with snowflakes. Elsa had previously moved into the royal chambers, which ended up being closer to Anna's room anyway.

"This is your room now, Princess Elise," Gerda had told them when they arrived. "Queen Elsa ordered it set up for you as soon as possible." They had wasted no time. It was already set up and ready to go. Except the wardrobe which remained empty. Elise would continue borrowing Elsa's clothes until her own were acquired.

"This was my old room," Elsa remarked appearing at the door. "I hope it treats you better than it did me." Elise could tell Elsa had a long day. There were bags under her eyes and her shoulders were slouched down, despite Elsa's best efforts to keep her posture straight. Elise didn't doubt that Elsa hadn't looked like that wherever she just came from. She probably kept it concealed all day until reaching this hallway, then let herself go.

"It'll do just fine, Elsa," Elise said with a reassuring smile. Elise saw Elsa's own smile slip when her eyes darted down to Elise's covered hands.

If she was concerned about Elise's gloved hands, she didn't express it nor was she given a chance. "Hey, Elsa, since Kristoff and Olaf are coming home tomorrow, can I get one more sleepover in?" asked Anna.

Elsa smiled again and took Anna's hand in her own to lead her out. "Of course," she looked back to Elise, "would you care to join us?"

Elise looked to her younger sister as she pondered her answer. Anna looked hurt after Elsa had asked Elise to join them. Elise understood what those two meant to each other. Let them have their alone time for now.

"No, thank you, I think I'd like to sleep alone tonight. I would like to redecorate my room a little first to fit my style a bit better though. That's not an issue is it?" Elise hoped Elsa knew what she meant by redecorate.

Elsa knew alright. "Of course that's fine, but I'd rather you not make a big mess. I've accidentally ruined it enough times on my own." Elsa flushed at the admission. The image of Elsa sitting in this room while it froze over flashed through Elise's mind, remaindering Elise of her own control issues when she had been younger.

"Oh, don't worry, I know how to keep it from melting," Elise said boastfully. A part of her wanted to impress Elsa.

"You'll have to teach me that." Elsa hooked her arm through Anna's. "Well, come on Anna, time for bed. I'll see you tomorrow, sweet dreams, Elise," Elsa finished giving Elise one last reassuring smile. Except Elsa didn't turn to leave or avert her eyes away from Elise.

"G-goodnight, Elsa," Elise stuttered under the pressure from Elsa's transfixed state. The room was becoming thick with awkwardness.

Anna took noticed of the delay and impatiently tugged on Elsa's arm. "Come on, Elsa." Elsa was knocked out of her stupor, blinking rapidly and turning beat red. She spun on her heels and practically ran out the door dragging Anna with her.

_That was odd._

Elise ripped off her gloves and headband throwing them off to the side. She felt her magic flow through her and got to work.

* * *

"What the heck was that about?" Anna asked when Elsa had finally slowed down her pace.

"Nothing," the Elsa quickly answered.

"Mmmhmm, right, I'm sure."

They remained silent until they reached Elsa's door. "She's weird," Anna declared.

"No, she's not. Don't be mean, Anna."

"She talks to herself. And I don't think she realizes she's doing it."

Elsa let her shoulders drop and sighed as the pair entered the room. "Yeah, don't you think I noticed? I honestly don't think she realizes she's not keeping it in her head." Elsa perked up suddenly. "What was she saying today?"

Anna shrugged. "Don't ask me. She mumbles too quietly, I couldn't hear her."

As they got changed Anna spoke up again on the subject. "I think I know what her problem is?"

"What?"

"She's weird. Just like her twin." Anna giggled as she stepped out from behind the changing screen. A snowball smacked her square in her face as soon as she left the cover of the screen.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to my beta readers Mig and Road.
> 
> Why did I make Hans related to Elsa and Anna? It's just a gag/social commentary alluding to the fact that inbreeding wasn't uncommon in European royalty back then and first-cousin relationships weren't viewed with the same disgust as they are today in America (in fact first-cousin marriages are legal in most parts of the world outside of parts of America, China, and the Koreas)
> 
> I'm not sure when I'm going to explain the backstory of Arendelle in the fic, so I'm just going to do it now.
> 
> The Duchy of Arendelle was a collection of counties or fylkers that ranged from Rogaland and the city of Stavanger all the way up the coast to Sør-Trøndelag and the city of Trondheim. The Duchy was ruled by House Aren, an offshoot branch of the House of Glücksburg, out of the Aren Castle in Bergen (more commonly called Arendelle in this fic). The Duchy of Arendelle was part of Denmark-Norway until the Treaty of Kiel in 1814. Rather than join Sweden in the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, the Duke of Arendelle (Elsa's grandfather) declared independence and crowned himself the new King of the Kingdom of Arendelle. His first-born son (Hans's father) gave up the position of heir to the Arendelle throne and married into the Southern Isles throne. Crown Prince Agdar married Princess Idunn, daughter of Queen Rapunzel of Corona, and they eventually became King and Queen of Arendelle. The Southern Isles is a very small island kingdom in the Danish islands while Corona is a Prussian city-state along the Baltic coast. The title of Queen/King of Corona is ceremonial more than anything else as they're really under the control of the Prussians in Berlin.
> 
> In this universe, Tangled happened in 1780, and Rapunzel died before Elsa's coronation. The "Rapunzel" in Frozen was just one of her granddaughters.
> 
> If you're wondering about Anna's behavior and why she is this way, you're just going to have to stay tuned.
> 
> But yeah, this entire time most of Elise's "internal" dialog was just her mumbling to herself.
> 
> Thanks for reading.


	8. Winter Wonderland

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, if you didn't know already, Elsa is Suffering (and if you don't know what that is, lucky you) was based off a series of greentexts called r9kElsa. There was another series of greentexts from the same place however, that never got a fic called teenElsa. I'm telling you this because my Elsa is definitely inspired by those greentexts or at least my Elsa is a grownup version of the Elsa in those greentexts. No one knows what went through canon Elsa's mind while she was growing up, but to the fill in gaps for my Elsa for this fic I present to you this pastebin and this site.
> 
> www.makimakimanga.com/teenElsa.html
> 
> www.pastebin.com/H3RA4zn4
> 
> This pastebin contains many of the teenElsa greentexts and by reading through it you'll get a basic idea of what went through my Elsa's mind while she was a teenager and before her parents' death. By this I mean personality and thought process, not the actual events that happened to teenElsa in this pastebin. Of course, that's what my Elsa WAS like as a teen. Now of course her personality is no longer like that, however there have been times in past chapters and this up-coming chapter where Elsa's thought process reverts back to her old ways. Also note that my Elsa's teenage self in this fic wasn't as bitchy or overly possessive as actually teenElsa from that pastebin. Remember: the events from those greentext stories DID NOT happen in this fic.
> 
> (This is the only time I will ever put A/N in the beginning of the chapter. I just wanted to get a shout out in to one of the inspirations for my Elsa and a very good series of greentexts)

Elsa had made it down to the main hall when she found Chancellor Jakobsen and Admiral Hoffman blocking the main entrance. They both bowed when she approached the door, but to Elsa's astonishment neither of them moved out of her way.

"Good morning, gentlemen." Elsa wasn't really sure how to go about this. The two advisers behavior was highly suspect and out of the ordinary. "Uh...if you would kindly move out the way, I need to get through, please." A Queen really shouldn't have to ask someone to move of her way, yet here she was.

The two men didn't budge, their faces were calm and emotionless. Elsa's mind went on the defensive as she realized they were trying to keep her from leaving the building. Was she being overthrown already?

Before Elsa could act, Chancellor Jakobsen finally spoke up. "Good morning, your majesty." His words showed no signs of hostility. A good sign so far. Then his face turned into a frown. "I must sincerely apologize for this, but we cannot allow you to leave the castle."

Elsa's hands shot up to her chest as she took a step back. Her eyes widened in fear. So, this is how her reign ends, isn't it?

"Queen Elsa, you misunderstand our intentions," Admiral Hoffman said in response to her movements. Elsa's eyes darted back and forth between the two men. "We know you wish to go down to oversee the cleanup, but we cannot let you."

Elsa had no idea what was going on, but she was calming down from her initial fear. "And why not?" It was time to get to the bottom of this though.

"You're supposed to be spending the day with Princess Elise, your majesty," explained Chancellor Jakobsen. Elsa's building anxiety faded and was quickly replaced with annoyance. Is that what this was about? Yes, she planned to spend the day with Elise, but first she wanted to oversee the cleanup effort. It wasn't even dawn yet and she planned on being back by mid-morning in time to spend the rest of the day with Elise.

Elsa looked at her two advisers with displeasure. "And I will. But first—"

"No," Jakobsen cut her off, crossing his arms. "You're going to spend the entire day with her. As your advisers, we highly advise that you spend as much time with your long lost twin as possible."

"But—"

"No 'buts'," he interrupted again. "The Admiral and I can handle the cleanup and the Kingdom for the day. You two have been separated for twenty one years and you have a lot of time to make up. The last few days have been extremely stressful for you as well. You need some time to relax and reconnect with the Princess. Please, take this opportunity to have a day off, your majesty." Admiral Hoffman nodded in agreement. "Please, at least consider the offer," Jakobsen added.

Elsa puffed out her cheeks as she considered the offer, momentarily forgetting who she was standing in front of. It was an old habit Elsa had since she was a child and if she had realized she was doing it right now, she would have taken it as a sign of how worn out she really was.

_He's right, I do want to spend as much time with Elise as I can and I'm really in no mood to work right now. It's not like there's anything else going on today anyway._

Elsa blew the air out of her mouth in a huff. "Fine, I'll take the day off." The Chancellor smiled triumphantly. "Chancellor Jakobsen, I leave you in charge until tomorrow morning, but if something happens," she pointed a finger and icy glare at the Chancellor, "I want to hear about it right away. Understood?"

"Yes, your majesty," he answered smiling from ear to ear.

Elsa spun around and made her way in the opposite direction before the two advisers could say anything more. "And I'm not going to forget about this little act of subordination from you two," she added over her shoulder. She was already out of the main hall before they could answer.

Of course, she wouldn't follow through with that threat. Though she was initially annoyed that her advisers would ambush her and order her around, Elsa's building excitement was washing away all her previous feelings.

Elsa knew exactly where she was heading to first, it was to her old room, where Elise now slept. She didn't want to wake Elise yet, but she wanted to 'start' off her day with her twin as soon as possible. Now with the prospect of no responsibility hanging over her shoulder, Elsa was struck with sudden fatigue at how overworked she was. And what better way was there to catch up on sleep as well as spending time with your twin than falling asleep by her side?

Before she knew it, Elsa had arrived. Slowly, quietly she opened the door. She had to stifle a gasp at the sight. The whole room was decorated with ice. It was beautiful, but she didn't have the time to admire it now. Elsa tiptoed to the side of the bed, nervously wringing her hands together. She felt like she was a child again, asking her parents if she could sleep with them when she was scared.

"Elise," she whispered. A grunt was her only response. "Mind if I sleep with you for the next few hours?" Elise rolled over, making a noise that sounded like 'uh huh'. That was all Elsa needed. She caught herself before diving into the bed though. She was still in her dress.

Elsa looked around nervously and made sure Elise was still sleeping, then stripped out of her dress, letting her clothing pool on the floor around her. She made herself a nightgown out of ice then gently climbed into bed.

Elsa was about to fall asleep when she felt Elise shift closer to her. Really close. Next thing she knew, Elise was pressing up against her side with her arm draped over top of Elsa's body and face nuzzling into the crook of Elsa's neck. Elsa's eyes had shot open and her face was completely flushed over. Elsa wasn't sure if she could fall asleep now, but eventually the fatigue took over and she drifted off.

* * *

**Knock knock knock**

Elise tried sitting up when the sudden noise had awoken her, but was dragged back down to the bed by something holding onto her.

She had fallen back on top of it and was now staring into its face only a few centimeters away. "Good morning," said the smiling blue-eyed girl underneath her.

"Elsa?" Elise backed off onto her knees. "What are you doing in here?" Both girls were blushing profusely.

_Is it normal to always be sleeping with your sisters? Maybe it is some kind of royalty thing._

"Uh, I had the day off and wanted to start it off as soon as possible. Don't you remember me coming in early this morning?"

"No."

**Knock knock knock**

Elise turned to face the door. "What do you want?" she shouted.

"Your highness, breakfast will be served in forty-five minutes," said the voice from the hallway.

"Oh." Elise thanked and dismissed the servant then turned back to Elsa. Her face was still bright red with a lopsided smile.

"So, you ready for today?" Elise asked. Now that Elise was fully awake, she was ready herself.

"Yes, but could you please get off me first?" Elsa asked meekly. Elise hadn't realized she'd been straddling Elsa's hips. She jumped off Elsa as fast as possible and got off the bed for good measure.

"So...what are we going to do?" Elise asked in the direction of the wall. She was trying to hide her own blush from Elsa.

"Well, first I thought, you know, we should get dressed and go down to breakfast." Elise rolled her eyes while Elsa giggled.

"Very funny. I meant afterwards."

"Oh, I know, I wanted to take you out to the courtyard where we can play with our powers." Elsa had moved out of bed and stretched. Elise couldn't help but stare as the sun shined though her platinum blonde hair. "I thought maybe we could talk while showing off to each other. Maybe we could have a snowball fight or build a snowman too. If that's okay with you...is it?"

Elise was very okay with that. "Of course, but Elsa, do you think maybe I can wear one of my dresses today?"

Elsa's eyes lit up at the question. "I got a better idea." She clapped her hands together. "Let's make our own dresses for each other."

"You mean, like, I'll make your dress and you make mine?"

"Yes. Our nightgowns are already ice, so we don't have to change out of them." Well, that was an interesting idea. Elise didn't see anything wrong with it.

"Okay then, but you can go first."

"Okay." Elsa closed her eyes and waved her hand in Elise's direction. Her nightgown started transforming into a proper dress and Elise could feel the dress forming around her. It didn't feel the same as when Elise made her own dresses, it just felt different, but Elise wasn't really sure how to explain it. It almost felt sensual. When the magic stopped swirling around her, Elise found herself in a beautiful white, short-sleeved mid-length dress heavily adorned with actual dark blue snowflakes of varying shapes and sizes. It was very simple, but extremely comfortable. Almost too comfortable.

Elise flushed and quickly waved her hand to fix her outfit at the realization of what made it so comfortable.

"What happened?" Elsa asked, her optimism gone. She couldn't see what Elise had fixed on the dress.

"You forget my undergarments." Now both twins were blushing again.

Elsa turned her face from Elise's view. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking about them." Elsa finally turned back around, her face still a little pink, but she was at least smiling again. "Do me now."

Elise closed her eyes and concentrated. She pictured the dress in her mind and let the magic flow out towards Elsa. She could feel her ice traveling up Elsa's body and when she reached her waist, Elise got a feeling that Elsa hadn't actually forgotten about her undergarments after all. She paused at the spot, considering "forgetting" about Elsa's undergarments, too. But, she brushed that thought and hesitation aside and simply created the clothing in question. The whimper that came from Elsa's direction almost ruined Elise's concentration, but she continued on.

When Elise opened her eyes, she was even more impressed seeing it with her own eyes. It was navy blue, the darkest blue Elise could make her ice, and showed off the curves of Elsa's body all too well. It was longer than the dress Elise wore, but was completely sleeveless. White rosemaling covered it in intricate patterns that looked like creeping frost. She even added the royal crest of Arendelle among the designs on Elsa's chest.

"Wow, Elise, this is amazing," Elsa said while admiring her twin's work. "You know, I meant to also comment on the room, too," she added gesturing to the ice covered room with her eyes. "They're both beyond beautiful."

Elise shifted uncomfortably on her feet. After thirteen years of being alone, Elise still wasn't sure how to properly receive other peoples' praise. "T-thanks. Shouldn't we be getting ready for breakfast?"

"Yes, I supposed we should. I'm going to go to my room to finish preparing for the day. I'll meet you in the dining hall." Elsa moved to the door quickly. "See you in a little bit." And with that, Elise was alone. Alone and a little confused. It seemed like Elsa had left in a rush, but now that Elise thought about it, the whole room had been thick with awkward tension ever since the undergarments incident.

Elise went to the bathroom to freshen up for the day herself and then made her way to the dining hall. She didn't need to be escorted because she already had most of the castle memorized. Elise had arrived on time, but Elsa was still missing. After another ten minutes though, Elsa finally arrived.

"You ready to eat?" Elsa said as she took her seat.

"I've been ready, just waiting on you."

As they ate, Elsa told Elise about what had happened earlier in the morning with her advisers. If Elsa had been planning to go out that morning that explained why she was wearing makeup when they woke up. It was only a light and conservative amount, almost unnoticeable, but Elise only noticed because their faces were about identical and Elise didn't wear makeup herself.

Elise couldn't help but stare at Elsa's face now, the reason being the same as her theory on why Elsa was late to breakfast. Elsa was wearing much more makeup now. It wasn't gaudy or overdone, it only added to Elsa's beauty, but Elise had to wonder why she had bothered getting dolled up, especially if she was already wearing some. Elise wasn't even wearing makeup now, though she had the feeling that she was going to be soon expected too.

_It doesn't make sense. She didn't say anything about leaving the castle today and I doubt Elsa would bring me out into town, especially before I've had any etiquette lessons._

"Uh, Elise." The sound of her name pulled Elise out of her thoughts and she refocused on Elsa, who was looking at her oddly with her head slightly tilted to the side and her hands neatly folded in her lap. Elise hadn't realized her mind wandered off. Elsa was probably wondering why Elise had been blankly staring at her. "Why do you do that?"

Elise struggled to find an answer. Why was she blankly staring at Elsa? Elise wasn't sure herself to be honest, so she decided to play dumb. "Why do I do what?"

"Talk to yourself like that," Elsa answered. Playing dumb paid off, but she was still out of the loop. By now, neither girl had remembered the food that sat in front of them.

"I don't understand." _I really don't. What is she talking about?_

"You talk to yourself sometimes. You just did it right now."

_What!? How does she know this? Can she read my mind? Is telepathy some kind of side effect of our magic?_

"Stop, you're doing it again." Elise stopped thinking or at least tried to stop thinking. She stared at Elsa with panic stricken eyes while tightly gripping the utensil in her hand. Elsa's head tilted to the other side, her eyes slightly narrowing as she thought.

"You think you're only talking to yourself in your mind, don't you?" Elsa finally said breaking the silence. It was true at least, but Elise didn't answer. "That's okay. I do that a lot, too. I had to do it a lot when I was hiding my powers from Anna."

"I thought I was only talking in my head." Elise finally broke her own silence. "To be honest, I used to talk to myself all the time at the North Pole. I guess old habits die hard." Elise held her head down in shame, she could tell by Elsa's reaction that talking to one's self wasn't considered a social norm.

Elsa covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle. "I know what you mean." Elsa was much more tactful. "Though in your defense, I didn't have the luxury to talk to myself out loud. Not to mention, I've been taught my whole life how to conceal". Elsa frowned when she noticed Elise's state of despair. "Oh, come on, it's nothing to be ashamed about. It's not like we can hear you anyway."

Elise's head perked up. What Elise was dreading even more than being socially abnormal was having Anna or Elsa hear some of the thoughts she'd been thinking. "You can't?"

"No, it's all just mumbling. Not even Anna understood what you were saying." _That was a relief. She would have to watch herself in the future though._

The two sat in silence for a few minutes as they returned to their meals. "So, where's Anna?" Elise could honestly care less about Anna, but she wanted to strike up a conversations and Anna had to be Elsa's favorite topic.

"She won't be joining us today. She's spending the day with Olaf and Kristoff." _That's a relief._ "She wasn't in my room when I freshened up, so she's probably with them already."

"Elsa, I still don't know who Olaf and Kristoff are." Elsa looked generally surprised by her admission, as if Elise was supposed to know who these two mystery strangers were.

"Oh...I would have thought Anna told you." Elise gave Elsa an incredulous look, as if Anna would willingly tell her that information. Elsa cleared her throat and continued. "Kristoff is Anna's, uh, suitor. He's that ice harvester that I told you about that helped Anna after my coronation..." Elsa trailed off as Elise snorted and started laughing.

"Oh, wow, somebody is actually courting her." Elise's laughter died under a combination of Elsa's icy glare and Elise suddenly remembering that she in fact did know who Olaf and Kristoff were. Elsa had mentioned them both when she had told Elise the story of her life that second night in the cell. "Oh, now I remember who they are. I take it Olaf is that snowman you created?"

"Yes, he is. They've been gone for the past few weeks on an ice harvesting trip. They came back today." Elise's mood dampened when she saw the displeased look on Elsa's face and heard her annoyed tone of voice. Elise swallowed, hoping that she hadn't just ruined the mood of the day. "What is the deal between you two anyway? Gerda had informed me that you two spent the whole day bickering."

Elise shrugged. "I don't know what her problem is. She treats me horribly, but I don't know why, so I treat her horribly back." Elise paused, considering whether she should ruin the mood any further with what she wanted to say next. Well, Elsa was going to have to find out eventually. "Plus she said some nasty things to me the night before the accident." Elise noticed Elsa was staring back at her with her raised eyebrows, Elise took this as a cue to continue. So, Elise continued and told Elsa everything that happened that night Anna had visited her alone. Thankfully she managed to do it while retaining her composure. Elsa's face was emotionless, but serious, by the time Elise had finished.

"I'll have to talk to Anna about this later. In the meantime, please stop fighting." And with that, Elsa's mood suddenly switched. "Come on," she said with a smile. "I believe we're finished up here. Let's go have some fun now." Elsa was smirking now as she got up and offered her hand to Elise.

Elise was a little thrown off by the sudden change of mood, but she was glad for it. Elise got up from the table and took Elsa's hand, letting Elsa lead her out to the courtyard.

* * *

Elsa wasn't sure if she would call this day relaxing so far. It was like an emotional see-saw. There was the thing with Anna, who she was going to have to have a stern talk with later. Elsa barely held herself together while Elise recounted her visit with Anna. She was dangerously close to marching off to find her younger sister and punishing her mercifully on the spot. She would get to the bottom of Anna's problem, but now wasn't the time.

Then there was confronting Elise about her self-talking problem which was more awkward than she would have thought. But the worst had to have been when Elise 'dressed her'. Elsa had spent almost ten minutes lying face down on her bed trying to recover after practically running from Elise's room. She had almost lost it when Elise made her undergarments. It sent such a good feeling through her body that was so strong that Elsa accidentally let out a soft whimper. If Elise had heard it, she didn't say anything and Elsa was grateful of that. Still, Elsa had to get out there before she turned into a flustered wreck so she took the first opportunity she got.

And then there was this feeling she was getting just by holding Elise's hand...

"This isn't the courtyard." Elise poined as Elsa led her by the hand into the back gardens.

"Oh, right, yeah sorry, I decided to come here instead. It's more private back here and the last snow killed most of the autumn garden anyway." The truth was, Elsa was nervous about playing with their powers and chickened out of the courtyard idea because she didn't want anything happening, especially with the Americans there. The space was limited, but the gardens did offer a lot more privacy and more privacy meant the more Elsa could be herself.

"So, now what?"

Elsa smiled. "Let's make a winter wonderland." Elsa throw up her free hand and summoned snow, but not enough to fully cover the ground. Elise got the idea and joined Elsa with her own free hand, adding her own snow, enough to cover the gardens in a fresh, thick layer of it.

The two twins turned to one another. "Let's decorate," they said in unison followed with laughter.

As if through an unspoken agreement, Elise started decorating the interior of the gardens while Elsa decorated its perimeter. Using all her knowledge of architecture, Elsa built a wall around the gardens, securely trapping them in and everyone else out. It wasn't just a wall though as she added beautiful archways, columns, and intricate designs ranging from snowflakes to elaborate windows, doors, and even building outlines. She finished off their frozen sanctuary with a structurally sound dome that would perfectly reflect light inside during all hours of the day. Elsa wasn't sure how it looked on the outside, but she was at least sure it couldn't be seen from outside the castle walls.

By the time Elsa had finished, all the emotional baggage she was carrying was gone as were her worries and concerns. There wasn't a problem in the world that bothered Elsa right now.

"Wow, this place looks amazing, Elsa," Elise marveled as she came up besides Elsa and rested her head on her shoulder while she admired her twin's detailed work. Elsa was too busy with her own work to pay attention to what Elise had been up too. She turned her attention to the rest of the interior.

"Whoa." Elise had been busy alright. The dying and decaying gardens had been transformed into what could only be described as a winter wonderland. The small landscape had been completely transformed into a frozen forest. Elsa was most impressed however, by how Elise managed to give the impression that they were actually in a vast frozen forest using faux ice trees and illusions. She had used ice and snow to blend the existing foliage into the frozen forest and, to Elsa's astonishment, had even managed to do so without permanently damaging them. The clearing that Elise kept was surrounded by frozen willow trees that reminded Elsa of the description Anna had given her about the spot where she and Kristoff had first found Olaf. The thin, clear ice that made up the branches and leaves glistened in the sunlight while a gentle breeze caused them to tinkle like chimes. The breeze had to have been Elise's doing as well for they were enclosed in, but it added to the natural and organic feel of the whole scene. The sights and sounds had an overall calming effect that Elsa thoroughly enjoyed.

Elsa didn't think she could pull any of this off without adding some kind of symmetry or order, something that would have ruined the whole scene. After all, Elise had told Elsa that she enjoyed natural things and shaping the landscape so it wasn't really a surprise she could pull this off while Elsa couldn't. It wasn't like Elise could pull off the perimeter Elsa had made. Maybe that was their defining features; Elsa the structured, organized, and order-driven sister and Elise the wild, organic, and nature-driven sister.

"You ready for the best part?" Elise was indicating to a mound of snow in the middle of the clearing.

"There's something better than this?" Elsa was curious what Elise had planned. With the wave of Elise's hand, the snow mound burst into the air as hundreds of fluttering...snowflakes. They looked and acted like butterflies, but were actually snowflakes. Their gentle flying added to the serenity of the scene.

"Oh Elise, this so wonderful," Elsa said wide-eyed in wonderment as she wrapped her arm around Elise bringing them closer together.

"Thanks, Elsa." They continued to admire the tranquil scene in front of them for a few more minutes in silence. "So, that was fun and all, but I want to do something together."

Elsa smiled. "Let's build a snowman...without using magic."

So, Elsa taught Elise the art of building snowmen by hand and soon they were building snowman together one after the other. Once Elise had gotten the hang of things, Elsa started telling her about the different times she used to build snowman with Anna while Elise listened intently. Eventually, Elsa started sharing other stories of her early childhood with Anna. After their umpteenth snowman, the twins gave up and just sat in the snow reminiscing over various memories as if they had grown up together. Elsa was surprised when Elise started sharing memories of her own life before moving to the North Pole, but Elsa could tell those memories for Elise were far and few in between. Elise's accident was very traumatic and Elsa wondered if that event hadn't made Elise forget most of her life before that accident. Elsa could tell the lapse in memory was starting to frustrate Elise so she had to think fast to change the topic.

With a mischievous smile, Elsa summoned a snowball and chucked it at Elise. It struck her square in the chest, startling Elise out of her growing frustration. She looked at Elsa in shock, who was still grinning mischievously.

"Snowball fight?" she asked, but already knew the answer.

Elise smirked back. "Oh, I'll get you back for this." In a sudden instant, the two girls took off in opposite directions and their great snowball fight began. Elsa had her fair share of snowball fights with Anna, but she always had to hold back. There was no holding back now though.

"Let's lay down some rules," Elsa yelled across the clearing. "You can only use snowballs and **no** summoning snow creatures to help. We play until the other party concedes."

A single "awe" was the only thing Elsa heard from across the clearing. She could only imagine Elise now disintegrating the snow creatures she had already been creating. "Fine, but can you at least throw up a wall so we don't ruin all the scenery," Elise finally yelled back. "Wait, let me remove some of these trees so we have some more room." That was an odd request, but Elsa was willing to oblige. After Elise finished expanding their clearing, Elsa threw up her wall. It was crude, but there was no need to be fancy, she was just going to take it down when they were finished.

"I'm ready," Elsa yelled. Elsa was quick to appreciate Elise's request, but Elsa wished she would have added the rule that snowballs had to be thrown by hand. Before she could even throw her first snowball, Elsa was pelted with half a dozen snowballs, obviously tossed by magic. Soon snowballs were being tossed at a rate of fire that no unit of line infantry could dream of matching.

With the ability of infinite cover, tossing snowballs at one another became ineffective and the simple game of throwing snowballs turned into a tactical battle of movement as each twin tried to out maneuver the other's cover.

The arena quickly turned into a maze of barriers and ramparts as the two girls got closer and closer. Finally, Elsa was sure she was so close to Elise that she was only a few feet away behind one of these barriers. At these ranges it would have been ineffective to fling snowballs with her magic, so a single snowball sat in her hand at the ready. It was completely silent as Elsa crept along the wall. Elsa could walk on top of the snow without sinking in when she wanted to and this was one of those times she wanted to. She had to make as little noise as possible. There was no doubt Elise was doing the same.

Elsa reached the edge of the barrier. Elise had to be on the other side. With a deep breath, Elsa rounded the corner, snowball at the ready... but collided right into Elise's body.

With an "oomph" the two girls collided and fell into the snow in a fit of laughter.

"Okay, I concede," Elsa said as she caught her breath.

"Ha ha, yeah me, too," Elise agreed.

"You're a worthy opponent, your highness," Elsa teased as she stood up and offered Elise her hand to help her up off the ground. Elsa looked around the arena after pulling Elise up. "Good call on the wall by the way," Elsa said and Elise nodded in agreement. "Hmm, it's about time for lunch though. Hey, I got an idea." Elise looked at her curiously. "You clean up in here and get this place back to normal, I'll go get us some food and we can have a picnic out here. How does that sound?"

"Great!" Elise answered.

Elsa turned and started walking to the edge of the gardens making a door in her wall so that she could get out.

* * *

When Elsa returned, picnic basket in hand, she found the gardens back to the way they were before the snowball fight with Elise in sitting in the center, mumbling joyfully to herself.

"Hey, I'm back," Elsa said catching Elise's attention. Elsa sat down next to Elise and unloaded the basket. When they got settled in, Elsa prodded for some answers. "So, no more waiting, you have to tell me about my daring rescue."

Elise gave her a lopsided smile and began recounting what had happened. How she broke out of the cell and how she managed to reach the ship without being seen. It turned out Elise had created an underwater tunnel after breaking out of her cell and used ice skates and wind to propel herself to the ship, then came up through the bottom. Elise told Elsa about her observation of Admiral Hoffman when she'd first arrived at the scene, which raised Elsa's curiosity about what else their powers could do as well.

"I still can't believe you broke those manacles, I tested them myself."

"Our powers are linked to our emotions, remember? We both know what our powers can do when our emotions get involved." Elise's comment was meant to be a logical conclusion, but they both winced at it.

"I guess that must mean you really feel strongly for me," Elsa joked. Elise's flushed red and she turned away. Elsa did the same when she realized she hadn't really meant it as a joke.

_Stop it, Elsa._

Elsa had to break the uncomfortable silence that was hanging over them now. "So, you know how to ice skate?"

"Of course, it makes getting around on ice much easier. Wait, do you, too?"

"Yeah, I learned before my accident...and I kept practicing ever since."

Elise slightly narrowed her eyes in confusion. "You did? But I thought..."

"Every once in a while I would sneak out of my room in the dead of night and practice," Elsa explained. "I usually waited until winter time when there was already natural ice, but a few times in the summer I would have to use my magic." Elsa laughed when a certain memory came to mind. "I even got caught by Anna once when I was thirteen."

Elise's eyes went wide. "Whoa, wait what? She caught you...using your powers?"

"Yeah, it was in the dead of night and she walked in on me in the ball room. I guess she was coming back from a late-night talk with her paintings or something." Elsa saw the question on Elise's face and answered before she could ask. "Anna used to spend a lot of her time talking to paintings. It helped her get through our years of separation. Anyway, when Anna saw me she was like, 'Whoa Elsa, I didn't know you had powers'. I was so scared, I just stopped what I was doing and ran straight past her and back to my room without even turning back or responding. I hid out in my room and cried all night waiting for the inevitable in the morning, but it never came. Turns out she must have been really tired, so tired that when she woke up the next day she thought it was all a dream. She didn't even tell our parents either, thank God, but she told me through my door later that day. After that night I cut back skating, I would only sneak out in the winter time when there was natural ice."

"Does Anna remember this?" Elsa's smiled faded at Elise's question.

"No, I don't think so. She's never brought it up. You would think now that she knows about my powers she'd realize it wasn't really a dream, but maybe she just forgot." Elsa let her eyes wander away from Elise, whose only response was "hmm". Another awkward silence was descending onto them. Elsa wouldn't have that. "Hey, come on, let's ice skate right now," Elsa said to break the silence.

When Elise agreed, Elsa stood up and turned the courtyard into a smooth sheet of glass-like ice. Elsa donned a pair of ice skates as Elise donned her own. Elsa took Elise's hand and they were off skating as one. Eventually, Elsa was able to prod at Elise enough to get her to start talking and talking she did. All it took was a few questions and stories before Elise was on a self-sustaining monologue about her time at the North Pole.

Soon their ice skating concluded and Elsa and Elise ended up lying in the snow together watching the sky, though Elise's story telling was uninterrupted from the change in activities. Elsa was learning a lot about Elise, from her early days struggling to build shelter to finally building a structurally-sound palace. Elise had spent most of her younger days learning to control her magic, shaping the landscape to create her idea of a perfect kingdom, and giving life to ice creatures to fulfill her needs. Elise still had to eat, so she sent snow creatures across the arctic to gather food and fuel for her to cook with. As she grew older, Elise started gaining an interest in international politics, which it seemed was a result of her fantasy that she was Queen of her own kingdom. That's when she developed those snow fairy spies that eventually led Elise to Elsa. That particle fantasy seemed to trouble Elise, Elsa could tell, so Elsa steered the topic to Elise's interest in international politics.

Elise's knowledge of foreign affairs greatly impressed Elsa and eventually the one-sided conversation shifted to Elsa's court. The twin sisters were now talking politics as they watched the sun set over the fjord. Elsa had since opened up the roof above them and Elise raised the particular spot they were lying in above the walls of the castle to give them a better view.

As dusk settled in, the pair dined on svinestek for Sunday dinner after saying goodbye to their winter wonderland and thawing it completely.

* * *

Hours later the sisters had settled into the library. Elise had shared what took up her time during her childhood and Elsa had wanted to show her twin what she did in hers by showing her the books she read as a kid. Now the two were sitting quietly on the couch with Elise lying in Elsa's lap while Elsa read stories from her favorite books. The fire they had lit earlier was starting to die out, it seemed they were both spent from a day of each other's company and sharing memories. Elsa just finished what seemed like her umpteenth book, when Elise yawned, she took that as a signal that it was probably time to call it a night. That was good, because her own eyelids were becoming heavy.

Elsa looked just as tired as she felt. "I take it you're ready for bed, too?" Elise asked. Elsa merely nodded at her twin. Elise moved to stand up and Elsa followed.

"Come on, I'll walk you to your room," Elsa said and Elise agreed wordlessly by trailing after her sister as she left the library. She must've been just as worn out as Elsa if not more.

They both walked to Elise's room in silence, too tired to talk anymore. Unfortunately, Elsa had a few things left to say.

"Elise, you're going to start your etiquette lessons tomorrow morning." Elsa waited until Elise sluggishly nodded in affirmation. "After lunch you're going to join me with work. I'm also going to introduce you to my council." Even in the dimly lit hallways, Elsa could see Elise wince. Elise was going to have to get used to people eventually. "You know as Crown Princess, you have a position on the Council. You're required to be there."

"Oh. Wasn't Anna technically the Crown Princess? Did she have to go?" As far as Elsa could tell, Elise was just asking out of curiosity rather than trying to argue the point. Elise had to know the answer to that question already.

"Well, technically yes, she was because she was next in line. And yes she was required to go, but she does not." Elise stared at her looking for an explanation. "Before the coronation, I was afraid to be that close to her all the time so I never told her it was required since Anna would have gone just as an excuse to be with me. I also ordered no one to tell her. After we reunited following my coronation, she no longer had a reason to go. I didn't press the issue with her because if she didn't go, it'd be more time for her to spend with Kristoff which would mean more time for me to spend with her when I wasn't busy. So I've been letting it slide, at least for a little bit. It was only fair considering I pushed back my own coronation by three years."

Elise turned back to front and said nothing. Maybe Elsa should have worded that better because now she had no doubt Elise was going to try delaying too. "Besides, I want you to join me on the Council. I would really appreciate you being there with me," Elsa managed to say just as Elise opened her mouth to protest. Elise shut it.

"Okay, Elsa. I'll join you." Elise didn't sound convinced, but Elsa could work with what she got.

They finally reached Elise's door. "Well, this is it, Elise. I had a wonderful time with you today, it was absolutely magical."

"Me too. It was the best day I've ever had," Elise said smiling. "Goodnight, Elsa."

"Goodnight, Elise." No one moved. They were facing each other with Elise's back to her door. Elsa stood there in silence gazing into Elise's eyes. Her eyes darted down to her lips and back up. Elsa was considering it alright. She was considering just leaning in just that little bit and planting a kiss on those beautiful, but familiar, lips. Elsa's mind went in overdrive trying to decide a course of action.

_It would just be a simple goodnight kiss. Would that really be going too far?_

Elsa never had a chance to decide, Elise decided for her. She leaned in, kissed her square on the mouth for the briefest of seconds, then spun around and ran into her room slamming the door behind her. It happened in the blink of an eye, but to Elsa it felt like an eternity just while their lips were in contact. Elsa felt as if she melted under the contact, it was one of the greatest feelings she ever felt.

Several minutes rolled by before Elsa realized she'd been staring at the door in front of her with her fingers on the spot Elise's lips. She composed herself quickly and walked as fast as she could without running to her room.

That was it, Elsa couldn't deny it anymore. It was that underlying feeling Elsa felt while with Elise that had been building up all day. It was nothing like she felt with Anna or anyone for that matter, it was so different, and it just got stronger throughout the day until it was to the point that Elsa was getting butterflies in her stomach by the mere touch of Elise. When Elise laid down on Elsa's lap in the library, Elsa almost had to get up and bolt out the door. Then there was her urge to lean in and kiss her twin. Elsa knew her intentions weren't just for a sisterly goodnight kiss. And then when it finally happened...

No, there was no denying it now. Elsa was in her love with her twin. She was a perverted freak after all, set up to be burned at the pyre and then cast into the fiery pits of hell for eternal damnation.

_Why am I such a fucking freak? I don't deserve Anna or Elise, I'm such a sick piece of shit. I don't deserve either of them or this crown. Why does Anna even like me? Things would be so much easier if she just hated me like she's supposed to._

Elsa was too busy looking at the anxiety-induced frost crackling at the tips of her finger tips to look ahead of where she was walking.

_How am I supposed to deal with these feelings? I can't be gushing over her at council meetings. And what if she finds out? What if Anna finds out?_

"Hi, Elsa!"

Elsa was shocked out of her thoughts and nearly stumbled over the snowman that stood in her path. He stood staring up at her with his arms outstretched.

"Oh, Olaf, you startled me." He continued standing there and started indicating with his stick arms. "Oh, right, sorry." Elsa leaned down and gave him a hug. "Did you have fun on your trip with Kristoff?"

"Oh yeah, I did, I can tell you all about it," he said enthusiastically. "But, hey, Elsa, can I meet your new sister first, I haven't gotten to give her a hug yet." The little snowman's smile faded into a pout.

"Oh, sorry Olaf, she already went to bed." _And I'm not going back there anytime soon._ "But why didn't Anna bring you and Kristoff to come meet her earlier?"

"Anna said we weren't allowed to." Olaf must have noticed Elsa's blank expression so he explained. "She said we should not go nowhere near that, uh...'sister-stealing she-devil succubus bitch'." It was clear from the way he said it that Olaf had no idea what any of that meant. Elsa should have been appalled, but she really wasn't surprised. She was going to have a talk with that girl soon.

"Well, I'm sorry Olaf, but I have to go to bed now. Goodnight, little guy." Elsa moved around the snowman to her door, which was only a few feet away now. He must have been camping outside her door otherwise he'd be with Anna. But if he wasn't with Anna, that meant...

Elsa turned around at the threshold of her room to find that Olaf hadn't moved. She rolled her eyes at him. "Why are you not sleeping with Anna?" Elsa didn't hate the little guy, but she'd much rather preferred Anna dealing with him.

"I'm going to sleep with you tonight. Kristoff and Anna kicked me out, they wanted private time."

_There goes a good night of rest._

Not that Elsa was going to get any sleep anyway, with this new realization on her mind. "Well, come on, Olaf." She was going to have to have a big talk with Anna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my two beta readers as always.
> 
> If you imagined Elise skating through a tunnel made out of ice under water like Frozone, then you are correct. That's basically what she did, after breaking out of the cell in a similar fashion as Elsa did in the movie. There will be more details about that in future chapters in case you're still confused.
> 
> As for that scene with the snowball fight, I like to compare it to that Spongebob episode, "Snowball Effect", and the scene where Squidward joins the snowball fight and throws snowballs at fully automatic. That's pretty much how fast Elise and Elsa were throwing snowballs. And they weren't really throwing them, more like flinging them with their magic. That second wall was necessary, otherwise they would have destroyed Elise's pretty forest.
> 
> I did plan on keeping Olaf and Kristoff out of the story until this point, fyi. I didn't forget about them and use "they've been away ice harvesting and now they're back" as a cop-out, I swear. However, I don't really intend for Kristoff and Olaf to be major characters in this fic so they might get even less time in the spotlight than the other minor characters (like the councilmen and the Americans).
> 
> Yes, Elsa in this fic used to use her magic while isolated from Anna, though very sporadically. Ice skating was one of her passions and the only thing that she would ever use her powers for. As it says in the chapter, she usually waited until winter, so the only thing she was really doing was making herself ice skates. There were exceptions, like the time she got caught, but as Elsa grew older she stopped doing that and by the time her parents died, she stopped skating altogether until after the coronation.
> 
> Going back to the A/N at the beginning of the chapter, I'd like to point out that the whole memory of Elsa getting caught using her magic by Anna was inspired by a specific teenElsa greentext. It can be seen here:
> 
> i dot imgur dot com / qkJW69s dot png
> 
> In this greentext, Elsa didn't actually get caught, but the whole dream idea was what inspired me.
> 
> Also I've been busy this weekend, so I haven't even started Chapter 9, so next update might be after next weekend instead of during next weekend. After I post Chapter 10 though, updates will become sparse until the end of August so sorry in advance.
> 
> Again thanks for reading.


	9. Breaking Point

Elise nervously wrung her hands together outside the council chambers as she waited for Elsa's arrival. Once again, Elise was wearing one of Elsa's dresses with her hair down and held back in a head band. For the first time in her life, Elise was also wearing makeup. It was all part of her integration into the royal family.

"Are you ready?" asked Elsa as she came up to Elise. Elise stared at her sister in terror and shook her head.

"Oh, come on, it's not going to be that bad," Elsa tried reasoning with a smile. "All you have to do is get through the pleasantries at the beginning and leave the rest to me. Do you remember your lessons from this morning?"

Elise remembered alright. Starting at the break of dawn, Elise had spent all morning and a good portion of the afternoon on the receiving end of lectures and etiquette lessons from either Kai or Gerda, and sometimes both at once. The lessons were nerve-wracking, stressful, overwhelming, frustrating, and generally a pain in the ass. They were trying to change her entire lifestyle, from the way she walked to the way she ate and now Elsa expected Elise to go into this Council meeting and act like this stuff was second nature.

"Yes, I remember, but—"

"You'll be fine, Elise," Elsa interrupted while taking Elise's hands in her own. "I'll be there with you the entire time...wait, what is this?" Elsa's eyes were now narrowing at the gloved hands she was holding, her smile had since disappeared.

Before Elise got a chance to explain why she was wearing Elsa's old gloves, Elsa tore them off and threw them both to the side.

"You are not wearing these, is that understood?" Elise opened her mouth to argue the point, but Elsa interrupted again. "These gloves are nothing but a trick. They don't really work, they just trick you into thinking you have control. I made the mistake of believing they work and I'm not going to let you too."

Elise was taken aback by Elsa's comment, but Elsa grabbed her hands again before Elise could physically back away. "I do have control, better control than you at least," Elise countered and she could see the hurt in Elsa's eyes, but she was too upset to let it affect her rising anger.

"That's odd. From what I've been hearing, the opposite is true," Elsa quickly retorted, her expression undeniably smug. Gerda and Kai must have been reporting to Elsa about her control problem and how she leaked magic when she got angry, which had been a lot over the past few days.

Elise squeezed Elsa's hands as the anger swelled within her. "Your rules and customs are absolutely ridiculous, so ridiculous that the only way to properly teach someone them is to indoctrinate one from birth."

Before the last word left Elise's mouth, Elsa's expression softened and her eyes looked down. Elise followed Elsa's gaze to their conjoined hands and the ice now crawling up Elsa's arms. Elise tried jerking her hands away in panic, but Elsa held tight.

"Elise, calm down," Elsa ordered while Elise struggled to get away. "Take a deep breath and calm down. You can't hurt me, remember?"

Elise stopped struggling and tried to calm herself down by taking a deep breath. "Elsa, I-I'm sorry, I was just really angry. I don't know how to control myself when I get this angry." Elise stared down at the floor in shame. She really didn't know how to control herself when she got frustrated, she never figured out how. Yesterday, Elise had told Elsa all about her life at the North Pole. What she didn't tell Elsa, however, was how many magic-fueled tantrums she went through whenever she had a failed attempt at creating something or when one of her ice creatures didn't properly fulfill her commands. If her ice creatures didn't naturally love Elise, they would fear her.

"Hmm, I see. This sounds familiar, but you just have to learn control."

"That's easier said than done, Elsa." Elise snapped back. "The gloves were working just fine."

"For now, or at least until you figured out it was all in your head. Let me give you some advice." Elsa pulled Elise into a hug and rested her head on Elise's shoulder. "Whenever I feel like my control is slipping, usually when I'm anxious or nervous, I just think of the people I love the most. I just think of how much I love my Anna and how much she loves me, and then I regain control. It's that simple, you just have to let the warmth of love wash over you."

That sounded a little too easy to Elise. Then again, Elise never loved anyone and no one ever loved her. Things were different now though. Still, Elise rolled her eyes. "Well, who could I think of that loves me?" she asked sarcastically.

Elsa's nostrils flared against Elise's neck as she deeply inhaled against the skin of Elise's neck, causing the black-haired twin to shiver. Suddenly, Elsa dropped all her weight for Elise to support on her own "Me," Elsa whispered.

 _What the fuck is going on?_ Elise now found herself in a curious situation. She was standing outside of the council chambers, which should have started right now, with the Queen of Arendelle practically swooning in her arms.

"Uh, Elsa, I think we're running late." Elsa's half-lidded eyes shot wide open and she launched herself off of Elise with enough force to almost knock her twin over.

"Shit...uh, I mean, you're right, let's go." It was the only thing Elsa said as she turned towards the door and led Elise to the meeting, her face was unreadable.

Elise eyed her curiously as she followed Elsa to the doors. From the angle she was at, Elise could just catch Elsa mouthing words to herself. It looked like 'appeal, won't reel' or something like that. Elise was still trying to process what had happened to her.

_I'm not really sure what just happened...but I think I liked it._

* * *

"...and it is my honor to serve Arendelle as the Crown Princess, both on this Council and as heir to the throne," Elise finished up her introduction to Elsa's Council with a nervous smile.

"Well then, now that introductions are out of the way, let's get down to business," Elsa followed up while taking her seat. Elise made sure to wait until Elsa was fully seated before taking her own seat as was customary. The other council members followed after Elise was seated. "For the first order of business, I want to go over is the progress of the cleanup of the harbor. Admiral Hoffman, what do you have to report?" Elsa continued turning to the head of Arendelle's Navy.

Things were going well so far. Elsa had introduced Elise to her Advisers and vice versa, then they shared some courtesies and greetings, and finally Elise gave her little introduction. Elise's active part in this meeting was finished and now all she had to do was listen. To listen and think about what had just happened five minutes earlier outside the room.

Elise mentally berated herself. This was not the best time to be introspecting, least she start mumbling to herself in front of these people. It was probably best just to pay attention and take notes.

_Oh right, I don't know how to write. I guess I'll just pay attention then._

Under the table, Elsa kicked Elise in the shin. Elise shot Elsa a snarl, but her mind quickly caught up to itself and Elise backed down, returning to the same stoic expression and regal posture Elise was trying to mimic from Elsa. Elsa must have caught her mumbling to herself again, it was the only explanation. Elise made a quick once-over of the men around the table, but it appeared none of them had noticed the exchange between the twins. All of them were actively avoiding looking in her direction, though she suspected they all wanted to stare at their Queen's identical twin in awe.

Elise couldn't blame the councilmen though, considering the Queen and Princess's identical looks, Elise wanted to stare at Elsa in awe herself.

For the second time, Elise had to mentally berate herself and she tried to refocus on the conversation at hand. The Admiral had already finished up his report and the council now moved on to the topic of foreign affairs and the negotiations with the Americans Elsa had partaken in during the morning. The Foreign Minister and Chancellor were currently arguing over the reactions of other nations, mostly Prussia and Russia, to a provision in which Arendelle would officially respect America's Monroe Doctrine.

If Elise couldn't take notes or properly pay attention, then the only thing left for her to do was join the conversation. She patiently waited for a lull in the speaking and when Elise got it, she took her opportunity.

"Well, I for one neither believe the Prussians nor will the Russians care much to damage our relations with them if her majesty agrees to such a provision." All eyes shot to the Crown Princess in shock. From the corner of her vision, Elise could see the fear flash in Elsa's wide eyes. If the twins were telepathic, there was no doubt Elsa would be screaming at Elise to stop right now. Elise ignored the unvoiced pleas to stop. "The Holy Alliance is hardly relevant anymore and both the Prussians and Russians are much more concerned about keeping Sweden-Norway in check than keeping the Bourbon Dynasty in control of the Americas. Besides, if anyone really wanted to contest the American doctrine, they'd have to deal with the British Royal Navy first."

Judging by the shocked faces, Elise suspected that these men had all assumed she was clueless to the world. However, it was the nods of agreement from a few of the advisers that caused her confidence to soar. Elise took the cue and continued.

* * *

A few hours later, Elsa led Elise into her study for the first time.

"Well, that went well," Elsa said as she shut the door behind Elise. It actually had.

"Yeah, you're right, it did," Elise commented as she surveyed the room.

Elsa crossed her arms. "Though I do remember telling you to leave the talking to me."

Elise looked back at her sister guiltily. "Sorry, but I couldn't just let my mind wander."

Elsa let down her arms and smiled. "Don't worry about it, you did well and I think you even impressed them." Elise brightened up instantly at the compliment. "Wait, what was on your mind that was much of a problem?"

As soon as she asked that, Elsa wasn't sure if she really wanted to know. She feared it had something to do with practically swooning in Elise's arms right before the meeting. That incident was a mistake on her part and so inappropriate that Elsa was still panicking over Elise's reaction. She had been such an idiot for allowing it to happen in the first place, but Elsa couldn't help losing all control when she inhaled Elise's scent, it was absolutely intoxicating. She would have to be more alert around Elise from now on and probably should avoid contact.

_Oh God, it's happening all over again. Soon I'm going to be pushing her away to protect her, just like with Anna. I can't let that happen again, I have to control myself._

Thankfully for Elsa, Elise had no intention to discuss what had been on her mind. "Oh, it was nothing." Elsa let go of the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "So, this is your office? It's kind of cozy, I like it."

"Yep, and that's the 'royal desk'." Elsa pointed out as Elise walked over to her paper covered desk. "All of this was father's, he loved this room. If I wasn't in my room or at private lessons, I was in here learning from him." Elise picked up some of the papers from a stack on the desk. "And now the protégé has become the mentor and you're going to work with me," Elsa joked.

"So, what is all this?" Elise eyed some of the reports.

"They're mostly reports that have backlogged over the past few days and a few minor decrees and petitions I need to sign."

Elsa turned one of the papers over to face Elsa, a grin creeping onto her face. "This is a letter from Russia...asking for your hand in marriage."

Elsa blushed and snatched it out of Elise's hand. "Give me that." Elise started digging through the rest of the pile.

"This whole pile is marriage proposals."

"Yes, I know, and I have to answer all of them. I've been trying to get them done for the past week, but I keep getting distracted by certain people." The indirect jab at Elise went unnoticed.

"What do you have to do with them?"

 _Toss them in the fire_ , Elsa wanted to say but instead she said, "I have to write back and politely decline."

"You're not going to accept any of them? Do you even read them?"

"No and yes, I at least read them. Can we get to work now?" Elsa took the stack off the desk and shoved them into one of the drawers, then collapsed into her seat and started rubbing her eyes.

Elise wasn't ready to drop the subject though. "Why not, Elsa? Aren't you expected to bear an heir? Does this have something to do with what Anna said the other day about losing your...virginity?"

Elsa's face turned beat red and she stopped all movement. But she recovered fast, and glared at Elise. "Elise, that is not appropriate!"

"So, it is?" Elise's face had somehow remained stoic and clear. She was learning quickly from Elsa.

Elsa sighed. "In case you weren't aware, bearing an heir requires...sexual relations and I have no intention of having sexual relations with anyone. Nor do I have the time to be involved in a romantic relationship with a suitor." That last part was a lie, Elsa would make all the time in the world to be with Elise if she could.

_Of course you would you sick freak._

Elise didn't say anything as she contemplated Elsa's explanation so Elsa took the opportunity to start reading over reports. "You know, you'll eventually stop shooting ice out of your crotch, if that's what you're afraid of," Elise finally whispered, still standing over Elsa's desk, her face bearing a mischievous smirk. Elsa stopped reading mid-sentence while frost found its way on the paper despite Elsa's face feeling like it was on fire.

"We'll talk about this later," Elsa said between gritted teeth. Her abashment was beginning to turn into irritation. "Elise, please take a seat so we can get started, I have a lot of work to do."

Elise finally dropped the subject and obeyed her Queen. "Okay, but what am I supposed to do? I can read somewhat, but I can't write."

Elsa looked up surprised, she hadn't thought about that. She was lucky Elise could read at least. "Uh, well, think of yourself as kind of my personal secretary for now. Help me keep all these papers organized and ordered. Also, start to get yourself familiar with some of these reports." Elsa reached into a drawer and pulled out two quills with ink bottles and some blank paper and handed one of the quills and the paper to Elise. "And you can start practicing your writing with these, too."

Elise took the quill, ink bottle, and blank papers without objection, but stared blankly at Elsa. Elsa took the hint and grabbed one of the papers back and wrote out the entire alphabet on it, then handed it back to Elise. "Start by copying this page a few times in your free time. First, we're going to go over these reports."

Elise nodded in acknowledgment as she took back the sheet of paper. Elsa finally was able to get started on her paperwork. It was already late afternoon and Elsa wasn't going to call it a night any earlier than midnight. It was going to be a long evening for both of them.

* * *

Elise dragged her feet down the hall as she made her way to the library. It was improper, but Elise didn't care at this point. She was tired and very agitated. The last four days had made Elise appreciate every minute she had up at the North Pole. She and Elsa had worked on paperwork until midnight on the first day. The work was draining and she wanted nothing more than to sleep in but, the next day Elise had to continue her frustrating lessons as usual in the morning. After her lessons, Elise went to lunch and unfortunately it turned out to be lunch with Anna, though Elise had finally gotten to meet Olaf and Kristoff. Olaf was incredibly childish and very clingy, though Elise couldn't hate him simply because he was Elsa's creation. Elise had barely said anything to Kristoff and vice versa which was surprising because Elise expected different from what Elsa had told her about the ice harvester's fascination with Elsa's powers and ice. It was clear though, from the scowling that Anna directed at Elise made him uncomfortable and Elise wouldn't be surprised if his silence towards her wasn't the doing of that bitch of a sister.

After lunch, Elise had joined Elsa in her study for even more paperwork and again they worked well into midnight. Thankfully, Elsa had managed to get through her backlog and there was no council meeting. The twins even made a game out of reading Elsa's marriage proposals with Elsa reading them out loud in funny voices. The third day wasn't much better, more frustrating lessons that started way too early and another lunch with the bitch, her submissive suitor, and that snowman who was starting to become obnoxious. Thankfully, when she joined Elsa, there was less paperwork to do. Unfortunately, Elsa had a lot of one-on-one meetings with her advisers, a meeting for all seven of them in fact, including one with the head of a local noble family. Elise attended all of them, thankfully only on the sidelines.

As they finished up, Elise had finalized her opinions on Elsa's Councilmen. Her favorite was the Admiral followed by the Chancellor. They were both very kind and respectful to Elsa and Elise herself and Elise knew they were both family friends. She wasn't too fond of the General and Foreign Minister though, they seemed hot-headed and confrontational with their Queen. Elise didn't have much of an opinion on the Ministers of Commerce, Agriculture, and Treasury, though the Minister of Treasury kept looking at her with distrust.

Elise was starting to come to the conclusion that her twin sister was a complete workaholic. The bags under her eyes grew more noticeable each day, no matter how much makeup Elsa tried to cover them up with. Elise suspected Elsa wasn't getting much sleep either, Elise thought she was probably waking up early to work, even though the negotiations with the Americans started at the same time as Elise's lessons. Elsa also barely even stopped to eat. Elise hardly saw her sister eat lunch and only remembered her having a small supper in her study. In fact, Elsa hadn't taken a break from working since they started on Monday.

The fourth day had finally arrived with more early morning lessons for Elise and by then her patience was running extremely thin, despite Gerda and Kai both claiming that Elise was making progress with her etiquette lessons. Thankfully, Elise had an Anna-less lunch and she didn't have to go straight to work with Elsa afterwards. Elsa was in the middle of a private meeting with someone who she wouldn't reveal the identity of to Elise. Luckily, this gave Elise a little break that she was going to use to practice her writing in the library.

Just as Elise reached the last stretch to the library, her stomach dropped as Anna came storming out of her destination. Elise couldn't deal with Anna right now for there was simply no way she could hold herself back if a confrontation happened between the two. Anna continued stomping in Elise's direction with some books under her arms and her eyes to the ground. She hadn't noticed Elise yet, but the younger sister looked as if she was fuming over something so a confrontation was almost guaranteed to happen if Anna noticed her.

Elise held her breath and shifted to the opposite side of the hallway as she neared Anna. It was all for nothing, as soon as Anna came within a few feet of Elise she took notice of her. It hadn't helped that Elise was unintentionally staring at her.

"What are you are looking at?" Anna demanded with a scowl. She had stopped walking, Elise did the same.

"What's your problem, freckles?" Elise shot back. Elise was already balling her hands into fists.

"Argh, I'm so sick of looking at your face!" Anna yelled.

"Dumbass, I have the same face as Elsa. Are you sick of Elsa's face too?"

Anna realized her mistake, but it only made her angrier. She spent a few seconds struggling to find a comeback. "No, because, uh...her face doesn't have a bitch behind it like you!"

Elise clenched her jaw. "You are such an ungrateful brat, you know that? Elsa would be better off without you!" Elise felt satisfaction at Anna's shocked face.

Anna narrowed her eyes. "Why don't you just run away again?!" Then she dropped her voice dangerously low. "And try not to go on another killing spree on your way out." This time it was Anna who felt satisfaction at her sister's expense. Her insult had come out of nowhere and caught Elise off guard. Elise didn't even know how Anna knew about that...unless she was just bluffing.

It took all of Elise's self-control and practice not to impale Anna on a spike of ice right there and then. Elise had been practicing using Elsa's advice at keeping the magic in when she got angry, but she'd been getting angry a lot over the past few days. The practice was the only reason Anna was still alive right now. But this was too much for what little control she had left. Elise was speechless and she had to do something, so she did the only thing she thought of that didn't involve killing the younger girl.

Elise brought her fist up and sucker punched Anna straight in the face.

* * *

Elsa knew she was overworked between the negotiations and trying to catch up with all the missed work from last week. Really overworked this time, it was worse than normal. Elsa could tell she was overworked when she found herself trailing ice and snowflakes as she walked down the hall. If Elsa hadn't lost control of her powers at her coronation, surely she would have done so at some point after. Either that or she would have simply killed herself, implying that her magic would even allow Elsa to harm her own body.

Elsa was on her way to the library now to find Elise. Her secret meeting with her spymaster and head of her secret police had been canceled, he was the only person in the Kingdom that could cancel on the Queen, and so she intended to find Elise to get started on their work for the day. Thankfully, her workload was light for this afternoon so she thought she would help Elise with her writing practice.

All she had to do was hold off until Saturday, just the rest of today and tomorrow, which was the first break from the negotiations with the Americans. Then she could finally take a breather and get to see Anna. Since Monday morning, Elsa had only seen Anna twice and Elsa still had to talk to her little sister about Elise.

As Elsa neared the library, she heard a commotion coming from around the corner. She increased her pace and turned the corner...just in time to see Elise punch Anna in the face.

In that moment, Elsa had lost all control. She was too worn down to even try. An instinct took over once again, one she'd felt only twice before; once on the North Mountain and once only a little more than a week before. In the blink of an eye, and with barely a thought given, Elsa found herself next to her twin. Elsa had enough awareness to notice the horrified expression on Elise's face and the fear in her eyes, but beyond that, Elsa had no control over her body. Rage, pure rage, was the only thing Elsa felt as she grabbed Elise and pinned her to the wall behind her.

Elsa felt her right hand tighten. Then she noticed Elise, with her back up against her wall, was standing taller than Elsa. No, not standing, hovering off the ground. Then Elsa noticed what her right hand was tightening against...Elise's throat. Elsa directed her narrowed vision up to Elise's pleading, tear-filled eyes. There was so much fear, but in that moment, she didn't care. Elsa gazed into her twin's eyes and Elise gazed back as Elsa squeezed the life out of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to my two beta readers.
> 
> I lied, this update was a little earlier than expected. Also, this chapter starts on a Monday and ends on a Thursday in case there was any confusion.


	10. Heart-to-Heart

"ELSA!"

The scream sounded like a faint echo at the back of Elsa's mind. She faintly recognized the voice, but it didn't break her concentration.

"ELSA, LET HER GO!"

Now the screaming was starting to break her concentration. Now Elsa recognized the voice. It was her little sister, Anna.

"ELSA, YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HER, STOP!"

The screaming finally broke her concentration and Elsa's mind snapped back to reality. She found herself in front of her twin...and with her hand around Elise's throat.

In the flash of a second, Elsa relaxed her grip and recoiled back in horror causing Elise to drop to the floor in a heap, coughing as she tried to regain her breath. Elsa was too horrified to speak or move. When Elise finally caught her breath, she angled her eyes upward and met Elsa's own. Elsa could see the fear being directed at her and it made her heart sink even deeper. Then, without warning, Elise bolted upright and ran down the hall, disappearing from view.

Elsa didn't move, instead she just stared down at her hands. "What have I done?" she whispered to herself, unaware of the tears flowing down her cheeks.

It was Anna's hand on her shoulder that finally pulled Elsa out of her daze. Elsa spun around to face her sister, and quickly noticed the black and blue ring that formed around her eye and the tears that fell down her face. Anna was looking back at her, not with anger or fear, but with anguish and despair. Before Elsa could think, Anna wrapped her arms around Elsa in a crushing embrace.

"You're not running away either," Anna commanded. Elsa wasn't even considering it, but she didn't say anything. "You almost killed her. Why?" Anna finally whispered.

"I thought you were in danger," Elsa answered at normal volume. "I-I didn't mean to hurt her, I swear."

Anna let out a guilty sob as she loosened her grip on Elsa, maybe finally convinced Elsa wasn't going to bolt, too. "I'm sorry."

Elsa was taken aback. "What? No, Anna, I messed up. I lost control and alm-"

"No, Elsa, this is my fault...again," Anna interrupted, pushing off of Elsa to face her, but not letting go. "I pushed her into hitting me. I've been so mean and rude to her. I caused all of this."

Elsa knew she was going to have to have this conversation eventually, so it might as well be now. "But why, Anna? What did she do to you to deserve that?"

"I was just...jealous. You spend all your time with Elise now and I thought I was going to lose you to her." Elsa considered Anna's explanation. It was a sound excuse, though very childish. Elsa had been spending much more time with Elise than Anna and Anna never had to deal with sharing Elsa with anyone outside of business before. "Sometimes you act head-over-heels for her, I've never seen you like that, Elsa. If she wasn't your sister, I'd say you were in love with her and it scared me."

Elsa's throat went dry. _Am I that obvious?_ "You were scared because you thought I was in love with my twin?" she asked nervously. There were only two ways Anna would take that question; either as a confession of guilt or a really stupid question.

"Huh? No, I was scared you were going to forget about me." Thankfully, Anna seemed to take it as a really stupid question.

"Oh, Anna, I would never forget about you or stop loving you. Not for anyone."

"I know." Anna dropped her eyes to the ground. "I was stupid and now I...I ruined your whole relationship with Elise."

"No, I did. I shouldn't have lost control like that..."

Anna brought her hand up to Elsa's face and pushed a finger to her lips, silencing Elsa mid-sentence. "Elsa, just go to her. I promise, no, I swear I'll make this up to you both, but right now you need to go to her. Don't let her run away. Trust me on this, Elsa, you cannot let her slip away."

Elsa just nodded. Anna was right. She needed to go find Elise and make things right before it was too late, and with that, Elsa turned and ran down the empty hallway.

* * *

Elise had curled up between a tree and the castle walls as she sobbed into her hands. When Elsa had let go of her, she had every intention of running out the gates and all the way back to the North Pole like Anna had suggested. Elise had no reason to stay, she ruined everything with Elsa and yet, she couldn't make herself leave. So, here she was, hiding out in what appeared to be a concealed spot in the gardens. She could have simply gone back to her room after she had decided to not run back to the North Pole, but Elise was scared. Elise was scared of what Elsa would do to her when she found her. Would she kill Elise on the spot or banish her? Or maybe throw her back in that cell.

Lost in her thoughts, Elise hadn't noticed the person walk up to her until they had rested a hand on her shoulder. She tensed up and clenched her eyes tighter. She just hoped whatever came was quick.

Elise was unprepared for when the figure sat on the ground beside her and started stroking her hair and spoke soft and soothing words to her. Elise couldn't make out what they were saying over her own sobbing, but she recognized the voice and it only made her more confused. Elise opened her eyes and removed her hands to confirm her suspicion.

"Anna?" Elise wasn't sure if this was good news or bad news.

"Yes, I know I'm probably the last person you wanted to see, but I have something that I need to say before Elsa finds you." Elsa was looking for Elise after all, but Elise still wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"Please, don't blame her for this, Elise," Anna continued. "Or yourself, this was my fault." The bruise around Anna's right eye said otherwise though. Anna had been crying, Elise could tell, and it didn't look like it was from the pain from the hit. "I don't really hate you." Elise was surprised by Anna's words. _What happened after I left?_

"Could've fooled me." Elise hadn't meant to say that out loud, but it was rather audacious for Anna to claim something like that after the past week.

"I know. I'm a big, selfish idiot. The truth is...I've been jealous of the attention Elsa gives you. I've always had Elsa to myself and even then most of the time I didn't have her. I know you won't understand, but I can't lose her again and I was afraid I was going to. She loves you so much, Elise."

"No, I think I understand. Elsa means the world to me, too." _And now I've ruined it._

Anna smiled and started wiping the tears off of Elise's cheeks. "Listen, I'm really sorry for the things I've said and done to you. You didn't deserve any of it and I understand if you won't forgive me, but Lord knows I'll try to make up for it." Anna wrapped her arms around Elise in a hug.

Elise's crying had finally subsided as she considered what Anna had just told her. It made sense, the whole jealousy thing. Anna had even told her before that she would do anything to not lose Elsa. But could Elise really hold this against Anna? After all, Elise barely even attempted to play nice with Anna herself. Not to mention, Elsa spoke very highly of Anna, and Anna's actions, as misguided and irrational as they were, kind of proved how much she valued her relationship with Elsa.

Elise decided she'd think about everything later, but in the meantime she would start working with Anna rather than against her. So, as a sign of good will, Elise returned the hug that Anna was currently giving her. Elise could feel Anna relax when she did and so assumed that Anna was satisfied with just a return hug.

"So, you said Elsa was looking for me?"

"Yes. To make things right again." Anna still hadn't released Elise, but Elise didn't mind, she was actually enjoying it. Anna really was like a bundle of warmth, which surprised Elise as she expected her other sister to be colder than even Elsa despite not having ice powers.

"How did you find me first, if I may ask?"

Anna laughed. "It's because sometimes I know Elsa better than Elsa knows herself. She headed to the main gate first because she thought you ran away since that's what she would do in your situation and must've thought you'd do the same. But I know Elsa, she wouldn't run away from the castle anymore, even if she thinks she would."

"But that doesn't explain how you found me?"

Anna had to repress another giggle. "Elsa wouldn't run away from the castle and she wouldn't go to her room because she knows it's too obvious. It was just about looking elsewhere and you happen to be in one of our favorite childhood hiding spots."

"Oh, but I'm not Elsa though." Anna wasn't getting to the point fast enough and it only made Elise's curiosity grow. Thankfully, it was taking her mind off of other things.

"You could've fooled me." Anna took Elise's silence as a cue to continue. "You two are so similar and it absolutely disgusts me now that I had ever treated you wrongly. I might as well been treating Elsa like crap. You have your minor differences, but you're basically the same person. Now I realize that if Elsa lost you, I'd basically be losing her too because without each other, you two aren't complete. And I could never love Elsa but then hate you at the same time because it would mean I hated Elsa."

_Alright that was confusing, but it kind of makes sense. Elsa and I are so similar, that Anna couldn't hate one and not the other._

"I love you both," Anna said, squeezing just a little bit more.

"Me too," said Elise. Elsa was right about Anna after all.

Anna finally ended their drawn out hug. "But I think I should give you two some space now." Elise noticed her eyes were directed at something behind Elise.

Elise turned around and found Elsa standing over them, smiling wide. Wordlessly, Anna got up and made her way back to the castle, it was Elise and Elsa's time now, she wouldn't intrude. It seemed like forever that the twins were simply looking at each other. Finally, a sob escaped Elsa and she dove forward onto Elise, knocking her sister onto her back. As Elsa lay on top of her, Elise could feel her crying softly. Elise wrapped her arms around Elsa and held onto her tightly, she could feel tears of her own coming back.

They stayed like that for a few minutes. Both tried apologizing and both claimed there was no reason for the other to apologize for, but it didn't stop either of them from continuing to say sorry to the other.

Their sobbing died down and Elsa lifted her head up to speak. "I think I need to take a break, a few days at the least. This wouldn't have happened if I wasn't so overworked."

"This wouldn't have happened if a lot of things were different, stop getting caught up in it," Elise tried to reason.

"No, I've been so worn out and now with this incident I don't think I can last any longer. I was thinking of taking a trip to my ice palace on the North Mountain. Just you and me for a few days; no work, no lessons, no distractions. W-would you like that?"

Elise would love that more than anything actually. _And finally a chance to see Elsa's ice palace in person, too._ "I would love to. When can we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning." That was sooner than Elise expected, not that she was complaining. "I can make arrangements tonight and we can be off until Monday. That's three whole days of just the two of us."

"Let's do it."

"Okay then." Elsa got up off Elise then pulled Elise up after her. "We're taking the rest of the day off too. I'll go make some arrangements for our leave and then we can have an early dinner. I want to leave early in the morning so we're going to have to go to bed early."

Elsa hooked her arm through Elise's and started leading her back into the castle. "So, who's going to watch the Kingdom while we're gone?"

Elsa smirked. "Leave that to me."

* * *

Chancellor Jakobsen and Admiral Hoffman sat uncomfortably on the opposite end of the table from Princess Anna and Queen Elsa. The two men hadn't heard what had happened, except that the Queen's top servants had ushered all personnel away from the library area where apparently some kind of commotion had been going on. The Royal family had to have been involved considering the Queen and Princess across from them had been very obviously crying earlier. And then there was Princess Anna's swollen black eye which was currently being covered by the Queen's frost-covered hand to help keep the swelling down.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, gentlemen," Elsa began.

"Anything for you, your majesty," said Chancellor Jakobsen.

"I regret to inform you though, that I will be taking my leave starting tomorrow morning and it will last until Sunday night."

"But, your majesty, this is such short notice. There is much planning that needs to be done and don't forget the meet-"

"I know, but it has to be done," Elsa said cutting the Chancellor off. That was the final word and the Chancellor decided not to argue anymore. "I'm going up to the North Mountain and I'm bringing Princess Elise with me...alone."

"No guards or servants?"

"No." Elsa pressed on before either of them could object. "I already have Kai and Gerda preparing supplies and luggage for our trip. After this meeting I will inform the Americans of tomorrow's cancellation personally. They'll get over it."

"And will Princess Anna be joining you two?" Jakobsen asked.

"No, and that brings me to my next point." Elsa tried to remove her hand from Anna's face, but the Princess whimpered and pulled it back. "During my absence, Princess Anna will be in charge."

"No," both men interrupted in unison.

"Rude, I'm right here, you know," Anna muttered in response.

Elsa ignored all three of them. "Yes, she will. And I want you two to be her personal advisers. It's time Princess Anna learned some responsibility and I want you two to guide her along the way. I'd trust no one else with this position. Do I have your support?"

"Of course, your majesty, you always do." The Admiral nodded in agreement with the Chancellor's words.

"Thank you. Just give her the help she needs and keep an eye on things for me. Don't hesitate to intervene if needed, but this is supposed to be a learning experience for the Princess. However, I've already informed her that it would be wise of her to follow your guidance, isn't that right, Anna?"

"Yes, sister," Anna answered obediently.

Elsa stood up from the table, the Princess following to keep her hand attached to her face. "Oh, and please keep her away from the Americans. I've arranged for the three of you and Kai to meet after dinner to plan out your schedule for this weekend. That is all, you're dismissed."

Elsa and Anna turned to go and as they reached the door, Chancellor Jakobsen called out behind them. "Queen Elsa, it's good to see you spending time with Princess Elise. Admiral Hoffman and I both greatly appreciate what she's done and she's deserves nothing less than spending as much time with you as possible. Please go enjoy your weekend with her."

Elsa turned around again. "Thank you, both." And then she was gone. At least this time the Queen gave them a warning before running off to the North Mountain.

* * *

It was nighttime now and the halls were dark. Elsa was walking towards her old room where Elise now slept. They were set to leave in the morning, but Elsa had a sudden urge to see Elise that she couldn't explain. So, here she was, right outside the snowflake adorned door of her old room.

Elsa silently pushed the door open and entered the dark room. Oddly, the room was barren of any of Elise's ice decorations and appeared through the darkness to be filled with Elsa's own stuff. Elsa paid no mind to these odd details as she slowly moved closer to the bed. A single ray of moonlight shined through the window onto Elise, illuminating her sleeping body perfectly.

Out of the corner of Elsa's eye, she caught the glint of metal in the shadows on the other side of Elise's bed. Before Elsa could react, a dark figure moved into the moonlight, dagger in hand. Elsa couldn't identify the assailant as her eyes were too busy following the dagger.

Elsa never had a chance to scream or act. She was stuck in place as the figure bent over Elise bringing the dagger to her sleeping sister's throat.

Elise never had a chance to wake up. The figure sliced the dagger across her throat. At the same moment, Elsa finally found the strength to do something. Before the dagger even finished the cut, Elsa let out a terrified scream and shot a bolt of magic at the assailant. The assailant was thrown back into the shadows, the bloody dagger flying across the room.

It was too late. By the time Elsa reached Elise she was already gone, blood already covered the sheets and her nightgown. It was covering Elsa now as she cradled Elise's lifeless body, too stunned to scream or move.

After what felt like an eternity, Elsa lowered Elise's body back onto the bed as anger started to rise within. Elsa could hear wet coughing coming from the assailant in the shadows. Elsa got off the blood-soaked bed, her hands now glowing as icy magic danced from her fingertips in anger. Elsa moved into the shadows towards Elise's killer, her magic casting out the darkness with a blue hue. She moved closer and closer until the light finally shown on the assailants face.

"No," she said out loud.

Elsa's fury disappeared and was replaced with horror and despair. Anna was sitting up against the wall, her face was pale and she'd been coughing up blood. Tears had been falling from her eyes. Elsa's eyes traveled down Anna's body and found a large icicle sticking out of her torso.

"W-why, Anna?" Elsa managed to ask though her sobs. Outside, a blizzard was raging on and the castle shook as giant spikes of ice broke through its foundation. The room was already frozen over.

Anna opened her mouth to speak. "I-I d-didn't want t-to..." Her eyes started to close. "...to lose you." Anna's head dropped down.

And then Elsa woke up.

* * *

Elise was on a mission. She had to get to Elsa. She increased the wind behind her, propelling herself as fast as she could skate through the tube of ice towards the burning ship and her twin. As she skated, Elise had a feeling of déjà vu, but she couldn't remember what this reminded her of.

Breaking out of the cell had been easier than she thought and thankfully she already was fairly close to the water. Elise knew the guards would try to go after her for escaping, so she had to get to the ship unseen. The only way to do that was to go under the fjord. So, when Elise reached the water's edge, she created an underwater tunnel of ice that extended all the way across the water to the ship, created a pair of ice skates, and entered the tunnel. Elise knew from experience at the North Pole that creating a gust of wind behind her in such tight quarters would propel her faster and Elise needed to go as fast as possible.

Before she knew it, Elise reached the end of the tunnel. She could feel she was directly under Elsa, though how she had that feeling was unexplainable. Elise sealed the end of the tunnel and used a pillar of ice to launch her upwards. Her sealed ice capsule broke through the bottom of the ship and several decks before it stopped. Elise had reached her destination.

Elise made a doorway and was instantly hit by a wave of heat. The instant the wave of heat hit her, Elise felt like a fog was starting to cloud her mind. She stepped out and found Elsa in the middle of a circle of flames. She was conscious.

_That's not right._

Elise remembered more now. Elsa was supposed to be unconscious. And everyone outside thought she was already dead. An old idea was starting to creep from the back of Elise's increasingly clouded mind.

Elsa's terror-stricken face brightened up when she saw Elise. "Elise, you've come to save me."

Elise was remembering more now, but her mind was becoming more clouded. Elsa had said Elise was the crown princess, the heir to the throne. The idea was tugging at her mind more and more and Elise was struggling to suppress it.

_Your own kingdom in your grasp, Elise..._

Elsa was trying to stand up. "Come on, Elise, you have to get us out of here."

Elise finally folded to the pressure. "Queen Elise broke out of her cell to save poor Elsa. She tried her best, but she failed to save the former Queen."

Elsa's face dropped. "What? Elise, what are you talking about?"

Elise grinned mischievously and shot Elsa back into the burning wall behind her. She screamed in pain, but Elise didn't stop as she covered Elsa's feet and hands with ice to restrain her to the wall. "Just to make sure you don't get out." Elise paused to think about it for a second. "On second thought," she impaled Elsa on a spike of ice causing her to cough up blood. "Now I'm sure you won't get out."

"Elise, please don't do this," Elsa pleaded as tears fell down her eyes.

Elise was now fully consumed by her fantasy. "Thanks for the kingdom, dear sister. I'll make sure to take _care_ of Anna for you." Elise had no intention of killing the Princess. Just a lifetime of torture.

Elsa's eyes widened in fear. Apparently the only thing Elsa feared worse than slowly burning to death while impaled on an icicle was Anna being harmed. _Good, let that be her last thoughts before she dies._

Elise turned around to go while Elsa screamed at her to leave Anna alone. Elise ignored her pleas.

Elise shot upright in bed. She was already crying and her body was covered in sweat as her mind struggled to understand the nightmare. She was equally disgusted at herself for ever having thoughts of killing Elsa to take over Arendelle as she was terrified at how close she came to losing Elsa before she even got a chance to get to know her. Elise couldn't have been more grateful for Anna stopping her on that first night.

Elise laid back down and tried to go back to sleep.

Neither twin would get a good night of sleep that night as they both tried to comprehend how close they each came to losing everything.

* * *

Morning came too soon with the sun just peaking over the horizon. A sled had been loaded up with supplies and was waiting for the Queen and her twin in the courtyard. However, there wasn't a horse or reindeer in sight.

"You won't get very far with that," Anna pointed out after finishing up her yawn. She had come out to see her older sisters off. She wanted to go back to bed but she figured since she was already awake she might as well stay awake considering her schedule for the day was due to start within the hour. She was already dressed for the part, she had chosen to wear a very similar dress to Elsa's coronation one. It was very non-Anna, but it made her look like a respectable monarch. Anna was not looking forward to her role as head of government during the Queen's absence, especially considering it was supposed to be the Chancellor's job. However, Anna was willing to accept her punishment for how she treated Elise.

"Right you are, Anna. I suppose we'll need something to pull us, don't you think Elise?" Elsa smiled at her twin mischievously.

Elise got the point, smiling mischievously too. _They are so cute together. Too bad they both look like crap._ Neither twin looked like they'd gotten much sleep.

"Whoa." Anna was struck with wonderment as Elise waved her hands and created two beautiful reindeer made entirely out of ice. More amazing than the fact that they were alive, was that they were perfect. No lumps, no unnatural lines, no jagged ice. Anna wasn't sure if Elsa could have pulled something like that off. Despite Anna and Olaf's persistence since her coronation, Elsa had refused to create anymore ice creatures. She wasn't comfortable doing it, especially after creating Marshmallow.

"It would have been easier if you made them," Elise said. "Then they would have already known where to go."

"I wish I could," Elsa mumbled under her breath. Anna could hear it because of her close proximity, but she doubted Elise had heard.

"What was that?"

"I said, it's okay, I'll make sure they know where to go," Elsa corrected herself, giving Elise a lopsided smile. "Besides, you're the nature twin."

_Nature twin? Well, that makes sense if Elise is the "nature twin" and Elsa isn't, Elsa isn't very good at making natural things, not that I'll ever admit that to her. I wonder what twin that makes her. Maybe the geometry twin._

"Anna," Elsa's voice cut through Anna's thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I'm trying to say goodbye." The ice-reindeer were already hooked up to the sled and the twins were ready to board. Elsa was standing in front of Anna.

"Oh, goodbye, Elsa." Anna wrapped her arms around her sister. "Be safe and enjoy yourselves."

"We will. Take care of Arendelle for me."

"I will."

"And no goofing off."

"Yes, Elsa."

"And listen to Jakobsen's advice. He knows what he's doing."

"Yes, Elsa."

"And no chasing after me this time."

"Okay, Elsa, jeez. I get it, just go already." Anna gave Elsa a playful shove out of their hug.

"Don't be nervous, it'll only be three days and there'll be plenty of people to help you out." Elsa climbed into the sled. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too."

Anna now locked her eyes on her other older sister. She'd been standing next to the sled, waiting for Elsa to board first while fiddling with her hands. Their eyes met, but Elise didn't move. Anna decided to take the initiative and walked over to Elise and threw her arms around her.

"Goodbye, Elise."

Elise was surprised, but she quickly returned the hug. "Oh, goodbye to you too, Anna."

"When you get back, maybe we can...spend some time together, without fighting?" _Two Elsa's really were better than one._

Elise smiled. "I'd love that." Elise climbed on to the sled and grabbed the reigns. Anna gave her older sisters one more wave as Elise ordered the sled forward. They both waved back, but Elsa turned around to continue as the sled turned to face its rear to Anna.

And then they were gone, away and beyond the castle gates. A single tear rolled down Anna's cheek as a feeling of emptiness took over her. It was only three days and she had Kristoff and Olaf to keep her company, but it felt like a scene out of her nightmares; Elsa gone for Anna to rule Arendelle without her. It was a horrible feeling that drove her to such madness over the past week that caused Anna's harsh treatment of Elise in the first place.

She didn't dwell on that feeling long, as she composed herself and turned to go inside with a smile now on her face. On the bright side, Elsa was actually coming back and Anna hadn't actually lost Elsa, but practically gained another Elsa with Elise. Elise could never replace Elsa, but they were so eerily similar, that they could have been the same person in Anna's eyes.

And it wasn't like Anna feared that they would be in danger. Elsa may have been timid with using her powers as weapon, but Elise sure wasn't.

_What could possibly happen between the two of them?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my two beta readers, like always.
> 
> If you're confused by Anna saying stuff like, "they're the same person", this chapter, it's because she's on to something. Elsa and Elise are not really twins. Elise and Elsa grew up in vastly different environments and if they were real identical twins, they'd be more different than they are in this fic because of the vast difference in environments. The best way to explain them is like this; one magic, two bodies. Elise and Elsa are one magical being split into two bodies that are meant to be together. It's also a yin and yang kind of thing too; asymmetrical (Elise) vs. symmetrical (Elsa), level-headedness (Elsa) vs. impulsiveness (Elise), good (Elsa) vs. "evil" (Elise), natural-oriented (Elise) vs. order-oriented ordered (Elsa) etc. And of course they share many other qualities and Anna was picking up on this.
> 
> But this is just a head canon thing and no one in the fic has any way of knowing this so for all intents and purposes they're twins. Anna was just pointing out that they're more than just twins. I have a whole headcanon figured out for their backstory too in which references will be included in this fic and I'll explain in the A/N throughout the updates only because the backstory explanation really has no place in this story otherwise.
> 
> If you prefer I don't explain it until the very very end because you want to try guessing, then let me know and I'll do that instead.
> 
> As for my two guest reviews (these reviews are from ff.net):
> 
> Ro: "OMG please, Elsa don't kill Elise or put her in the dungeon, just kill Anna."
> 
> Ouch, why no love for Anna?
> 
> Seioh: You're kind of right, she was bitchy and I hope this explains why. And funny you mention that because I actually planned on "her time of the month" being one of the reasons, but decided not to try adding it in. But yeah, you can assume it's also Anna's "time of the month" even if it didn't make the chapter.


	11. Love Lost

The sled broke through the last of the trees and onto the open snow-covered slope. Even though she knew where she was going, this was still all unfamiliar to Elsa despite having gone up this slope three times; once when she arrived the night after her coronation, another time when she came back a few weeks later and lastly the return trip.

The sled crested the final hill and just like that the ice palace popped into view. They had finally arrived at the North Mountain. With the orders Elsa had given them fulfilled, the ice reindeer came to a stop in front of the staircase leading across the crevice. Despite all this time, the ice palace remained the same as how Elsa left it a few weeks after her coronation. She had returned only once with Anna to retrieve her crown from her snow golem and also to give her sister a tour as well as making a few minor repairs. It was during that visit that Anna gave her snow golem the name of Marshmallow, who Elsa ordered to protect the palace until she returned. She hadn't returned until now.

_Speaking of Marshmallow, where is he?_

Elsa felt the weight that was on her shoulder lift off. She turned to see Elise sitting upright, eyes slowly fluttering open. Elise hadn't made it far after they left the castle, falling asleep immediately once she rested her head on Elsa's shoulder. _Elise is so cute while she sleeps_ , Elsa had thought to herself, so she refused to disturb her for the entire trip. She spent about half the trip watching where they were going and the other half watching her twin sleep.

Elise's sleepy eyes shot wide-awake when she realized where they were.

"We're here!" Elise almost squealed in delight while shooting up from her seat. "Wow, Elsa, it looks even more amazing in person." Elise's excitement reminded Elsa of Anna.

"Glad to see you're awake," Elsa said, standing up herself and stretching. It felt good to stand and it made Elsa realize how stiff she was. Come to think of it, Elsa hadn't moved at all once Elise rested her head on her shoulder, only a few times to turn her head, but nothing else.

Elise started climbing out of the sled while Elsa joyfully watched. Out of the corner of her eye, Elsa spotted an oddly shaped mound next to the palace stairs. Elise's feet were just about to hit the ground.

_Marshmallow_

"No, Elise, wait-"

A roar cut Elsa off as the snow mound burst into the form of the palace guard, also known as Marshmallow.

Elsa jumped off the sled and bolted in between the two. "Elise, get back! He'll attack you!" She wasn't there for half a second before Elise pushed her out of the way causing Elsa to stumble into the snow. Elsa made to move but it didn't take long before she picked up on two things. First, Marshmallow had stopped roaring. Second, Elise showed no signs of fear. In fact, she was staring at Marshmallow with her hands on her hip, shaking her head disapprovingly. Marshmallow looked at Elise with confusion.

Elsa sat up, slightly irritated that she Elise pushed her. "Hey, what did you do that for?"

"You call this a snow golem?" Elise commented, not answering the question. "It looks like something meant to scare only children."

Marshmallow looked between the two twins. "Mama?"

"Yes, I'm right here, Marshmallow," Elsa said standing up. She narrowed her eyes at Elise. She may have been cute while sleeping, but now Elsa was a little annoyed with her.

Elise crossed her arms and shot her sister a sly look. "Mama? Really, Elsa, 'Mama'?" Elsa refused to look at Elise.

"Who is this mean lady, Mama, and why does she look like you?" Marshmallow asked.

"Marshmallow, this is my sister, Elise. She has powers just like me and she looks like me because we are identical twins."

"So, she is my mother too?"

Elsa felt heat rising to her cheeks. "No, she's your aunt, like Aunt Anna."

"But Aunt Anna doesn't look like you and doesn't have powers. So that means you are both my mothers." And with that, Marshmallow scooped them both up in a hug. Elsa was face to face with Elise, their bodies' pinned together in the bone-crushing embrace. Both of them were bright red.

"Marshmallow, please put us down," Elsa commanded. Marshmallow dropped them to the ground on command.

On the ground, Elise was grinning at Elsa. "I guess that means we're parents now."

Elsa didn't think she could turn any redder. She scrambled to her feet and faced her snow golem. "Listen Marshmallow, Elise and I are going to be staying here for a few days. I need you to, carefully, unload our sled. Just leave everything in the foyer. Then come back out here and guard the palace. We'll unpack later. Understand?"

"Okay, Mama."

"Good." Elsa turned to Elise with an outstretched hand and a beaming smile. "Come on. It's time for the tour." She might've been a little annoyed with Elise at first, but it wasn't enough to stop the growing excitement of finally giving her sister the grand tour. Elsa had been looking forward to it since she'd come up with the vacation idea.

Elise took Elsa's hand and let out a surprised yelp when Elsa tugged her towards the staircase. "Whoa, I thought you were upset with me."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "I was, but I'm too excited."

Elise smiled back. "Me too."

* * *

Over an hour later, Elise continued to follow Elsa through the glistening halls of her ice palace as she helped Elsa put away their stuff. Elise had quickly noticed that the interior of the palace was rather small and simple in comparison to the outside, though not any less amazing than the exterior. The few rooms that were there were large and very open. Elsa explained how it was a spur of the moment creation—which Elise thought was even more impressive than the palace itself—and that she hadn't really put in any thought of long-term living arrangements. Though she didn't mention it, Elise could tell Elsa had purposely built it so that only one resident could occupy it. There was only one of everything; one bedroom, one snow-bed, and one very-crude bathroom. And everything was wide open and big with almost no signs of furniture and only sparse decoration—unless one counted the beautiful snowflake-engraved walls as decoration.

Even to Elise, who had grown up alone in her own ice palace, thought it felt a little unhomely. They hadn't even made it past the second room before Elise had the urge to express her thoughts out loud and Elsa explained that at the time, she didn't want to feel cluttered and trapped as a byproduct of her self-imposed imprisonment. So, they both decided to liven up the place while Elsa finished her tour and while they unpacked.

Upon closer examination, Elise decided that the interior decoration was best as it was though some furniture and remodeling was definitely needed. So Elise and Elsa got to work. A few chairs and coffee tables here. A couple of ice sculptures over there. Elise turned the bedroom, which had only been a big room with a single bed, into a real royal bedroom with a grand vanity, dressers, cabinets, and wardrobe though they remained mostly empty. Elise thought about adding a second bed or even a second bedroom, but decided not to bring it up. Elsa must have decided the same because she didn't mention it either.

Elise then turned the crude bathroom, which had been just a little room with a hole that emptied over the side of the mountain into a royal bathroom equipped with a bath tub and a plumbing system Elise had designed herself at the North Pole. It worked using water from melted ice. It was functional, but it could only use freezing cold water, not like freezing cold water bothered them anyway. Elise's final touch up was turning another room – one that Elsa had no use for – into a semi-functioning kitchen and storage space for the supplies they had brought. The only room Elise didn't touch was the main hall, the one with the chandelier, the balcony, and the giant snowflake on the floor. Elsa requested that Elise leave it as it was, so Elise listened. Elise could tell it was special to Elsa. It might have been the only room she stayed in during her first stay.

And now Elise found herself standing in that room because they were done. The tour was finished and their luggage unpacked.

"So..." Elise trailed off as she stared at the chandelier above her. Something had caught her eye, something that seemed out of place. The chandelier seemed out of place almost as if...then Elise noticed it. Most of the chandelier was made up of triangular crystalline ice that fit with the overall style of the palace. Elise had tried her best to keep with that style while she remodeled; sharp edges, symmetry, order. But parts of this chandelier had been replaced with rounder shapes that looked like...flowers. Now Elise could see it clearly. They were flowers It was very out of place, but then Elise remembered that Elsa had to remake this chandelier on her last visit. Her last visit with Anna.

Elsa spoke up next to her as if reading her mind. "The flowers were Anna's idea. I know it kind of looks stupid, but she was so excited that I added them for her. Elise nodded. "I also added a few features from a lesson I learned when I was first here."

As if on cue, Elise traced the chandelier to the top. A countless number of ropes and chains shot out of its top to multiple spots on the ceiling.

Elise looked back down at Elsa. "A little over the top, don't you think?"

Elsa ignored her comment. Instead she stared ahead as if looking past Elise. "Elise, could you help me with something?"

Elise raised an eyebrow, suddenly aware of the change of mood. "Sure." Elise knew she had to proceed carefully. She had no idea what Elsa had in mind though. "Anything."

Elsa's eyes seemed to focus back onto Elise. "I want you to teach me how to make an ice statue...of a person."

_Is that all? I wonder why she's acting all strange about it. I wonder if she's embarrassed?_

"Sure. That's easy."

"Well, to you maybe. I need it to be perfect." Elsa's mood had yet to brighten and Elise was starting to wonder what why she was so serious.

"Did you have anyone particular in mind?" Elise knew the answer before she even asked, but she had to ask anyway.

"Anna."

"Well then, that should be even easier." Something in Elise's mind clicked and the memory of Elsa telling her about how Anna had turned into a frozen statue surfaced.

_Maybe this isn't going to be as easy as I thought._

"It's simple really," Elise started. "Like everything with our magic, you have to imagine what you want to create and then will the magic to do it." Elise took a step back to give herself some space to work with. "But the trick is to not try to do it all at once." Elise held out her hand and let her magic flow out. "Start with the overall form and then work through each detail one at a time. It takes a little practice to get all the details lined up, but it's a lot easier than trying to do it all at once." When the magic stopped swirling around, a life-sized ice statue of Elsa stood in its place. "Now you try."

Elsa stared at the statue, clearly impressed. She smiled and may have even blushed, but Elise couldn't tell. But the smile quickly faded. Elise wasn't sure what was up with her, but she was starting to get a faint idea.

Elsa was hesitating so Elise decided to help her along. "You can use my statue as a guide. Just change the details to fit what you have in mind. You're about the same height anyway so it shouldn't be too off."

Elsa didn't respond, but she took a step back, closed her eyes, and held out her hand. Magic started swirling around the ice statue and Elise watched it transform.

Elsa finished and opened her eyes. Elise had enough time to get a look at the statue before turning back to gauge Elsa's reaction. It was Anna, but the limbs hadn't changed position and the details were a little shaky. She also looked happy. But Elsa didn't, she looked disappointed. She was pouting.

"That's not what I wanted." Elsa turned to her twin. "I need you to help me and I need to do this from scratch."

Elise was confused. "What more can I do?"

Elsa looked at her blankly. "I need you to hold me."

"O-kay." Elise stepped up behind Elsa, pressed her body up against Elsa's back, gently grabbed her wrist, and pointed it to an empty section of the floor. Elsa's eyes were already closed. "Like this?" Elise didn't get an answer, but from the way Elsa relaxed when Elise pressed up against her she knew it was what Elsa wanted. Soon enough, Elsa started letting her magic flow.

Elise felt a lump forming in her throat as she watched the statue form. She could tell it was Anna, but in winter clothing. Elise could already make out some of the details, which were flawless from what Elise could tell so far. The ice statue Anna was holding out her arm above her body. Her eyes looked sad and weak. She looked as if she was using her body as a shield.

But it wasn't those details that made Elise let go of Elsa and back away. The ice statue didn't look like a normal ice statue. It had the color and texture of what happens to human beings when they get frozen by magic. Elise knew this look all too well.

It didn't matter though. Elsa was already finished and didn't need her to hold onto. Elise heard a partially-suppressed sob coming from in front of her and it knocked her out of her thoughts. "Should I go?" Elise whispered. Elsa nodded, but didn't turn around. It didn't matter what Elsa answered though. Elise had to leave. Now.

Elise turned around and hurried towards the exit. At the threshold she turned around and spared one last glance at Elsa who was slowly and cautiously approaching the ice statue. "I'll go get us something to eat...for an hour or two," she added under her breath.

* * *

While she was away, Elise theorized that Elsa was still not over freezing her sister's heart several months ago and that this was her way of getting over it. Elise knew that feeling all too well and even the sight of Elsa's frozen-Anna copy was enough to bring back bad memories. After about an hour of waiting, she decided that Elsa had enough time to determine that the ice statue she'd left Elsa with was in fact not Anna and that it was safe to return.

Elise started back carrying some bread, cheese, and various smoked meats for her and Elsa to eat for lunch. That was probably all they were going to eat the whole weekend had Elsa not come up with the idea of freezing already-cooked stews and soups. All they would have to do is heat it up on the small stove that was packed in the sled. It was going to stay there when they left along with the wood and buckets of coal that were brought along for fuel. That's what the "semi-functioning" part of the kitchen was.

Come to think of it, they could have brought a whole slew of fresh foods to cook with. The cold was wonderful at keeping food fresh. Unfortunately, Elsa knew nothing about cooking and Elise was no gourmet chef herself. Furthermore, it was too time consuming. Perhaps she could convince Elsa to have proper cooking utilities brought up and to take cooking lessons sometime. And maybe a bigger stove so they could heat water for the bath. And maybe a bath tub that wasn't made out of ice. But that was neither here nor now so Elise had to live with frozen stews and jars of lutefisk.

As Elise climbed the stairs, a thought crossed her mind.

 _What did Elsa eat when she first came here?_  
  
Elise walked into the hall and to her relief it was clear. There were no ice statues around, but Elsa was there sitting on the floor looking like a bored child. It didn't help that the end of her braid was in her mouth. She was chewing on her hair like a child.

_Maybe she ate her hair. Or maybe she did that all the time while she and Anna grew up and Elsa's just really good at hiding it._

Upon spotting Elise, Elsa immediately spat out the braid and acted like she was never doing it. "Oh, you brought lunch. Good, I'm starving."

"I see that." Elise sat on the floor next to Elsa and handed her some food. "Is that how you survived your first visit, by eating your own hair?"

Elsa blushed, she knew had been was caught. "Snow, actually."

"What?"

"I tried eating snow."

Elise stared at her twin. "You're kind of stupid, no offense."

Elsa rolled her eyes, but smiled. "And I don't eat hair it's just a nervous habit albeit an old one. I was nervous because I thought I scared you off."

"You didn't think to come looking for me?"

Elsa smiled and shrugged. "I'm stupid, remember?"

"Oh, right. So, a nervous habit, huh? What about hugging your body and twiddling with your hands?"

"I have a lot of nervous habits, so what," Elsa gaffed. "I've seen you do the same two things anyway, sister. You'd probably be chewing on your hair too if it was longer."

Elise remained silent and they both finished eating in silence. Actually, that was one of the reasons Elise decided to cut hers short when she was only ten. She wanted to help break the habit. That and long hair was too much of a pain.

"So," Elise gestured to the empty space around them. "How do you do this so easily?"

Elsa looked at her blankly.

"How do you manage to thaw your ice so effortlessly?" Elise questioned more specifically, generally intrigued. It always took her more effort to thaw her ice than to make it. Elsa made it seem easy and she was only doing it for a few months.

Elsa looked at her with a puzzled expression. "You do know how to thaw right?"

Elise nodded. "You make it seem so easy though."

"Well, how do you do it?"

"I don't know, I just tell it to go away. Like the opposite of making it."

"Interesting..." Elsa trailed off. For a few moments she seemed lost in thought. Finally, she came to a conclusion. "I don't know why, but I've never been able to thaw my powers using that method alone." Elise cocked her eyebrow questionably. "Perhaps since you've had much more practice than me you have more control over it. But it appears I've stumbled on how to do it correctly, while you've just been forcing it."

"Well, what is it then?"

"Remember what I said about keeping your powers in check? It's the same thing. Love."

Elise stared at Elsa for a moment, waiting for her sister to change her answer but Elsa stayed steadfast. "You're serious?"

"Very. That's what I figured out on the fjord after Anna saved me. Just like controlling your powers when it gets out of hand. It's quite simple really. Love will thaw."

"Love will thaw," Elise whispered to herself. It was such a simple solution. Elise couldn't believe that she hadn't figured it out herself.

Elsa blurted out the reason a split second before it crossed Elise's own mind. "Of course, it requires having someone to love in the first place so I can see how you wouldn't have figured it out." It was the truth, but it still hurt. "But things are different now. You have people to love and people who love you."

That was true too and Elise already knew exactly who she would be thinking of the next time she needed to thaw something.

"Speaking of magic, I was wondering if you could teach me some fighting tips and tricks." Elsa smiled. "If I remember correctly, you're pretty good at it."

Elise blushed at the compliment and the memory of their first meeting, but she was at least happy to move away from the topic of love.

Elise couldn't help but smile at Elsa's enthusiasm as they got off the floor to start practicing. Elsa was practically beaming when Elise agreed to practice with her. Elise found that very attractive. Everything about her was attractive to Elise though, from her looks to her little quirks. Elise may have been ignorant of most societal norms, but she knew the attraction she had for Elsa was not normal. It was more than sisterly and it made her afraid. She wanted to like Elsa, to be with her. But she knew she couldn't be with her like _that_.

Elise knew she had to keep it in check though. She even found herself starting to get turned on by mere contact with Elsa. When she had pressed up against Elsa's back earlier, it sent a shiver down her body that went straight to her center. No, Elise had to repress these feelings and she knew very well that sexual attraction to one's own sister was especially wrong. If Elise couldn't get this feeling under control, it may end up severely hurting Elsa.

Elise hesitated with her hand held out ready to show Elsa the deadlier side of their magic. She looked down at it while images of last night's nightmare flashed in her mind. No, she certainly didn't want to hurt Elsa. But there were a few things Elise wanted to know about Elsa that was sure to make her uncomfortable. Maybe later tonight though.

* * *

Elsa looked up from the novel she was pretending to read across the room at Elise. Elise was laying on one of her ice couches with her face in her own book as she had been for the last few hours. After a long and strenuous session of practicing combative magic, the twins heated up one of the pots of soup for dinner and then decided to take it easy for the rest of the evening by reading and chitchatting. Elsa had packed a whole pile of books for her and Elise. Following dinner, Elise made a beeline for one in particular, the _Wealth of Nations_ by Adam Smith.

Elise hadn't taken her eyes off it since. At first they chitchatted and made small talk, but Elise's attention on the book was too strong and eventually silence descended on them. Elsa had picked up a novel herself, but couldn't make it past the first page. She was content with just watching Elise. The sun has long since set and now the North Lights cast a colorful light that filtered through the palace's translucent halls. Elsa watched the colors dance across Elise's porcelain skin and couldn't help but pretend they were more than just sisters.

That's what Elsa had been really doing since the silence had fallen on them, daydreaming. Daydreaming that they weren't just sisters, that Elsa's sick fantasy was real. Elsa imagined herself next to Elise on that couch, curled up by her side as Elise ran her fingers through Elsa's hair. The heat of Elise's body washed over Elsa and permeated all the way down to her...

Elsa opened her eyes and glanced over at Elise. She still hadn't taken her eyes off that book just like all the other countless times Elsa checked.

_Good._

Elsa knew Elise couldn't tell what she was thinking just by looking at her, but it did nothing to calm her nerves. The whole fantasy was revolting to Elsa, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. It felt so good. It felt so wrong and yet so right.

_It's not like I'm acting on it. I already think like a sick freak, I might as well pretend to act like one. I won't get the chance when I'm in Hell._

Plus it was distracting her from other thoughts like their sleeping arrangements. Like a fool, Elsa hadn't put any thought into the matter until a few hours ago when Elise mentioned something about bed time. That was when she suddenly remembered that there was only one bedroom and one bed. Elsa didn't even think about it earlier when Elise was remodeling the bedroom. She should have told Elise to add another bed.

Of course Elsa had slept with Elise before, but things were different now. Elsa's feelings were getting stronger and she was slipping. She was afraid of pulling an Anna and finding herself humping Elise in her sleep. At least Anna was thinking about Kristoff at the time.

_What would Elise do if she caught me moaning her name while we slept?_

Elsa didn't want to think about it. She had let Anna push the bounds of a sisterly relationship for too long and now Elsa's guard was down in her relationship with Elise. It was okay with Anna because their relationship was strictly platonic, but it couldn't work between Elise and herself, not as long as she felt this way about Elise. Elsa would probably have to change her relationship with Anna to keep up appearances and build up a resistance. No more sleeping together, no more long drawn out hugs and kisses, no more bathing together, and especially no more 'doctor' games. Elsa didn't know what Anna saw in that childhood role-playing game, but that game was going to have to stop. Anna wasn't going to be happy and Elsa wasn't sure how to explain it.

A book slammed shut across the room, jolting Elsa out of her reverie. She looked up to find Elise staring at her.

_Oh shit, she knows._

But Elise didn't. "I'm ready for bed."

Elsa would have sighed in relief if she wasn't dreading the night to come.

* * *

Elise had taken notice in Elsa's strange behavior as soon as they left the main room. Something was one Elsa's mind, she could tell.

Elsa let her know as soon as they entered the bedroom. "I was thinking," she started off nervously. "There's only one bed. We'll have to sleep together. Are you okay with that?"

Elise cocked her head to the side. After all those times they've slept together and now suddenly Elsa was asking her if she minded doing it again? Of course Elise didn't mind at all, but alarm bells started going off at the back of her mind anyway. Something was obviously wrong for Elsa to ask her that, but Elise wasn't sure what. Could Elsa be picking up on Elise's feelings? She wasn't sure, but she would have to be careful.

"I don't mind," Elise answered casually.

They both changed into their nightgowns—more like created—and settled into bed. The real sheets and blankets they had brought fit well with the unmelting snow base of the bed. It was luring Elise into sleep, but she had something to get to the bottom first.

"Elsa?"

"Yes?" came the voice from across the bed. Elsa didn't move otherwise and Elise kept her gaze at the ceiling.

"Do you ever see yourself falling in love?"

This time Elsa turned to face her. "Excuse me?"

"I mean, do you ever intend to fall in love with someone and settle down with them?"

Elsa paused for a moment. "You mean like get married?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Elsa paused again. "Well, I told you how my childhood went. I gave up the idea of ever having a love life pretty fast."

Elise turned to face her twin. Elsa was looking at her, but her eyes were lost in thought. "So, there was nothing?"

"Well no, in the beginning I once liked to imagine that my knight in shining armor would come rescue me and take Anna and myself away from the castle so that we could live without fear and responsibilities. But I was fooling myself and knew it was actually Anna that needed rescuing from me. That fantasy was short-lived of course." Elsa shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I was just never boy crazy like Anna was." Elsa paused for a moment and then chuckled to herself. "Now that you reminded me, before the accident I used to tell Anna that when I became Queen, I would marry her so we would never be separated." Then her smile faded. "It was kind of immature of me. Of course I couldn't marry another woman, let alone my own sister."

Elise raised her eyebrow. Elsa had given Elise a perfect setup for her next question. Silence descended on them as Elise struggled to find the right words.

_Screw it, I'll just wing it._

"Elsa, have you ever...thought about...I mean, were interested in...no, let me start over." Elsa was now focused on her. She was gripping the sheets around her tightly, but Elise was too flustered to notice. "Have you ever thought about a woman the way we're supposed to think about a man?"

Elsa's eyes went wide and her cheeks turned pink. Elise averted her gaze back to the ceiling and watched the colorful lights that danced across it. She laid there for a few minutes in silence before Elsa finally spoke.

"Yes."

It was barely a whisper, but it caused Elise to whip her head back to stare at Elsa. Elsa was gazing at the ceiling too. Elise patiently waited for Elsa to continue and eventually she did.

"I was sixteen at the time. I think she was twenty two. She was one of the temporary handmaidens and her name was Helene. When I first laid eyes on her, I got butterflies in my stomach and I just knew I was in love. She was so beautiful with long dark hair and..." Elsa trailed off for a moment. "Anyway, for the few months she was there, I always made a point to discreetly follow her around. I felt so dirty, but I couldn't keep my eyes off her." Elsa didn't continue.

Elise didn't want to push it, but she was afraid Elsa was finished. "Then what happened?"

Elsa picked up the story as if she never stopped. "One day, I followed her to one of the empty rooms. She undressed and started to...pleasure herself." Elise eyes widened. "I watched the whole time, it was mesmerizing. When she was finished I was so excited I ran to my room, locked the door, and..."

Elise felt the words stick in her throat, but she forced them out anyway. "And tried to pleasure yourself?" Elsa just nodded. "Was it your first time?" Elsa nodded again. "Was there ice?"

This time Elsa answered. "And it was my last time. I didn't ever want to see her again out of fear. Thankfully her time was up only a few weeks later." Elsa finished speaking and remained silent.

Elise opened her mouth to speak, but closed it instead. She wanted to explain to Elsa about how the ice only does that until your body adjusts to the pleasure of release, but there was about a million other thoughts going through Elise's mind at the same time and she couldn't concentrate. Elise had a lot of new information to process, but sleep was taking her fast.

The North Lights continued to dance across the ceiling in the awkward silence as the twins drifted off to sleep, both very deep in thought.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Mig and rd.
> 
> Well I' home. I wrote this and Chapter 12 while I was on vacation so Chapter 12 should be coming out very soon. After that, I should be going back to my regular updating schedule.
> 
> One thing I do want to note is the naming of Marshmallow. In the movie, Olaf names Marshmallow, but no one hears him. There's no doubt though that Olaf didn't say anything though to the others. That being said, I don't think Elsa (at least in this fic) would let Olaf name her snow golem "Marshmallow". However, she would definitely let Anna name him whatever she likes and of course Anna would choose Marshmallow too. So to Elsa's perspective, Anna named Marshmallow, not Olaf.


	12. Love Found

Elsa woke up slowly, taking her time before finally opening her eyes. The sight that greeted her was one she hadn't seen in months, not since the first time she came to the mountain. The morning light shining through the castle was just as beautiful as it was the first night she slept in this room. Only the difference this time was that she wasn't alone.

Elsa's eyes darted down to the bed. She didn't need to look to know Elise had nuzzled up against her during the night. The replay of last night's conversation and yesterday's anxiety flashed through her mind and suddenly it made Elsa push away from Elise with such force it caused her twin to start stirring awake. Elsa scrambled to the other side of the bed getting as close to the edge as possible and pretended she'd been asleep there the entire time.

Elsa had slipped up again, but thankfully she caught herself before Elise woke up. As for that conversation last night, Elsa should have never told Elise about Helene. Not even Anna had known about her or her interest in other woman. But Elsa had felt like she needed to tell someone about Helene and it was better for it to be someone like Elise rather than someone more ingrained in their culture like Anna. In fact, Elsa wasn't sure how Anna would take the news. Elsa wasn't stupid. She'd heard the rumors of other royals having secret lovers of the same sex and they had turned out fine. That was one thing Else didn't let herself get worked up over, however she was still unsure of what Anna's reaction would be so she had decided not to bring it up.

Now, however, Elsa regretted telling Elise. Elise was no idiot either and by telling her that she was into woman, Elsa put Elise one step closer to finding about her secret. Elsa would have to change the entire way she interacted with both her sisters to throw off suspicion.

Across the bed, Elise finally opened her eyes. She sat up and looked for Elsa while Elsa pretended she had just woken up herself.

Elise leaned over with a smile that made her gulp. "Good morning."

* * *

Elsa and Elise both ate their breakfast in silence. Elise couldn't help but notice that something was bothering Elsa. She had seemed lost in thought since they started eating and she kept fidgeting. Elise felt the urge to ask what was wrong, but couldn't find the nerve to do it. Not after last night. Elise had pried deep into Elsa's personal life and she was afraid she went too far, judging from Elsa's current state of affairs. Elise had just been curious about Elsa's love life or lack thereof.

_For your own satisfaction. What did you expect her to say, that she's into her own twin?_

Elise wasn't really sure what she expected out of that conversation, though she never imagined Elsa to confess what she did. Not only had Elsa once been willing to marry her own sister, but she was attracted to other woman too.

_Just stop, Elise. That's never going to happen. You're better off going back up to the North and creating your own ice copy of Elsa to fuck at your leisure if you want her that bad._

Elise tightened her grip on the utensil in her hand. It seemed she always managed to find a way to get angry at herself. Elise glanced at the glass-like ice table and snarled at her reflection.

_You need to get over this perversion, NOW!_

And then Elise noticed in the reflection that her lips were moving.

_Damn._

Elise covered her mouth with her hand. She thought she was breaking this habit, she'd been doing mostly good since Elsa pointed it out a few days ago. Elise glanced up to see if Elsa had noticed. There was nothing for Elsa to hear, but there was still a chance Elsa could read her lips. God forbid she understood the part about Elise fucking an ice copy of Elsa at her leisure.

Thankfully, Elsa was lost to the world. She was so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed a single thing. Elise watched carefully as Elsa slowly ate. Her beautiful icy-blue eyes were fixated on her food, but it didn't matter where they faced as her mind was seemingly preoccupied elsewhere.

_What if this was my fault?_

Elise didn't think she was being too obvious, but now she wasn't sure. What if Elsa's current state was a result of her picking up on her true feelings? Was she sending Elsa mixed signals that were causing her confusion?

_Am I making her uncomfortable?_

Elise wasn't sure of anything anymore, except that this little vacation was turning into an emotional nightmare. Despite past nightmares, Elise was beginning to realize that hurting Elsa physically was the least of her concerns right now.

* * *

Eventually, Elsa had to force herself out of her introspective state to spend time with Elise. Following breakfast, Elsa and Elise went back upstairs and decided to practice their magic together. Elsa gave Elise a few pointers on architecture and structural engineering and Elise taught Elsa a few tips and tricks for using magic in aiding with everyday activities. It turned out, ice magic had more uses than Elsa imagined. This turned into practicing by trying to replicate each other's work. Later, Elsa and Elise decided to settle down and break out some of the games Elsa had packed.

It only took a few hours, but Elsa had managed to quell her anxiety. By calmly working with her magic and making small talk with Elise – steering clear of the controversial topics, of course, which proved fairly easy – Elsa had managed to find a sort of inner peace. Eventually their small talk trailed off and Elsa found herself reminiscing to Elise every memory of herself and Anna that she could remember. For her part, Elise was a good listener. Elsa could tell that Elise was enjoying just listening while she reminisced.

But as they sat on the floor, playing their tenth game of cards, Elsa was beginning to tire of talking about herself and she had a growing curiosity about Elise's interest in politics. During their small talk, Elise had been very opinionated over certain issues concerning global affairs. Once again, Elise's knowledge of the world around them and politics had greatly impressed Elsa. She wanted to know more.

Elsa had just finished going over the time she and Anna had snuck chocolate from the kitchens. When she was done, Elsa decided to stay silent instead of continuing onto another story. Elise must have taken the hint that she was finished because she didn't probe her to continue onto another story like earlier. Now there was only silence, but thankfully their game was just finishing up too, so it didn't last long. Elise had beat Elsa once again. She wasn't sure how Elise was so good at this game.

"If you don't mind, I think I'm done playing for now," Elise said as they gathered up the cards.

Elsa didn't mind, she was getting sick of this game herself. "No, it's okay."

"I think I'm going to read for a little bit too, if you don't mind that either."

"Go ahead." Elsa watched Elise walk over to her book. Elise had been itching to read that all day, she had spotted Elise eyeing it up earlier. It raised her curiosity.

From her spot on the floor, Elsa watched Elise drop down onto her couch, her eyes already scanning the pages. To make herself look busy, Elsa started creating a miniature ice sculpture. "You really like that book, don't you?"

"Yep." Elise didn't take her eyes off the page.

"Say, Elise, were you really serious about your dream to become a queen?"

This time Elise did look up. "What do you think? I almost killed you remember?"

Elsa rolled her eyes. "No, I mean in general. Do you still wish to be a ruler?"

Elise placed the book down on her lap, looked toward the ceiling, and sighed. "I don't even know. I probably wouldn't be very good at it anyway."

Elsa's eyes were becoming glued on the miniature sculpture forming in front of her. She was just letting her magic flow naturally into it, not purposely making any changes, and letting it form on its own. Which was another way of saying Elsa's sub-conscious. Its ever changing shape was mesmerizing and caught Elsa's interest, but not enough to draw her away from the conversation at hand completely. "I disagree. I think you would make an excellent Queen. You're very brilliant when it comes to the topic of foreign relations, maybe even better than me."

"Thanks, but you're the Queen and you'll get better than me with practice." Elsa's attention faltered as she was now too mesmerized to take notice of anything but Elise's voice.

"I feel bad about that." The statue, still clouded by a swirl of magic, was starting to take its final form.

"About what?"

"That you weren't given the chance to be a ruler. I wish you could rule with me."

"Yeah, well, keep wishing, otherwise you'll just have to marry me, but look how that turned out with Anna."

The miniature ice sculpture had just finished. "You have no idea how much I wish I could."

"Hmm?"

It took a few seconds for Elsa to register what she had just said. Her eyes grew wide and her heart sank when she realized she had said it out loud.

And then the second realization hit her. The miniature sculpture was a scene of herself and Elise kissing passionately. Elsa had never thawed something so fast in her entire life.

Immediately she looked up to Elise who had her face buried in the book again. Elsa stared at her trying to determine what Elise had heard or seen. It felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest.

_Her eyes are glued on that book again, so there's a good chance she didn't even notice the sculpture. But did she hear me?_

After a moment, Elise felt Elsa's eyes on her and glanced up from her book. "I'm sorry, I—are you okay?"

Elsa nervously nodded her head. Even Elise took notice of how concerned she looked.

"Oh...okay. Uh, I was saying that I didn't catch that. What did you say?"

Elsa was instantly relieved, but she wasn't out of it yet. "I said..." _Think fast, Elsa._ "Do you want to have a snowball fight?"

Elise looked at Elsa with suspicion. _Shit, she didn't buy it._ Then Elise closed her book. "Okay."

_Holy shit, that was too close._

* * *

The snowball fight was no less intense than their first snowball fight. This time, however, it was Elise who came out on top rather than a simple draw. It helped of course that they actually laid down a set of victory conditions before starting. Despite being about equal in power, Elise had managed to outsmart Elsa which secured her activity. Elise just had a better knack at tactics.

"If you keep this up, I'm going to have to put you in command of my army. You're already giving Foreign Minister Hansen a run for his money."

Elise silently glanced over at her twin as they walked up the stairs leading to the palace; for obvious reasons, the snowball fight had to take place outside. Elsa was a wreck. She was covered in sweat, her hair was all out of place, and her ice dress was torn in several places. It was a very intensive snowball fight after all. But Elsa's spirits were high, judging by her sprightly attitude as she complimented Elise.

Elise had used a little more common sense in their game. She changed her ice outfit into something a little more appropriate for athletic activity which elicited a comment from Elsa about Elise looking quite handsome dressed as a man before the game's start.

Elise sighed, she was growing tired of pretending everything was alright between them. Despite Elsa's sprightly attitude and friendly demeanor, Elise could tell it was all a front. Elsa was still being bothered by something and it was getting worse. Elise couldn't tell what though. She tried to be less obvious, whatever that meant. Elise wasn't even sure what it meant to be obvious in the first place. She thought she was doing well by keeping Elsa talking about herself and Anna. As long as Elsa was talking about herself, Elise wasn't saying anything stupid. But then Elsa had to ask her about her stupid Queen fantasy.

_And you had to mention the marriage thing, didn't you?_

Elise had let Elsa's compliment get to her. Elsa hadn't said anything so Elise assumed – and hoped – that Elsa hadn't heard. But the way Elsa started acting afterward made Elise think otherwise. At this point, Elise was almost positive it was her unnatural feelings towards her twin that was causing her twin's distress.

_We can't keep going along acting like nothing is wrong. It's going to ruin our entire relationship. I can't go back to being alone again, I need Elsa._

Elise's biggest fear was that she was going to lose Elsa, whether they worked out this issue or not either by their relationship falling apart or Elsa tossing her out upon hearing the truth.

They were at the top of stairs now. Elsa stood at the threshold of the palace, gazing into the sky. "The sun is due to set soon. I never did get a chance to show you it last night. What do you think about eating dinner out on the balcony so we can watch the sunset?"

Elise glanced up at the balcony and sky above them as she thought. _Dinner and a sunset? That sounds...romantic._ Elise swallowed. "Sure."

Elsa smiled and walked inside. "Good. In that case, could you get the stove going and put the stew on? I think I need an icy bath, I'm filthy."

"Yeah, I can do that for you." In fact, Elise did need some time alone. And Elsa did stink too.

* * *

Elise had started the stove in record time and already their dinner was thawing out. However, Elise didn't want to sit twiddling her thumbs waiting for the food to heat up, so she set off to retrieve her book.

On her way, Elise heard a sound coming from the hall that led to the bathroom. It was the sound of Elsa humming a tune to herself, though from what Elise could hear, it was nothing she recognized. Elise was frozen in place as her mind struggled to make a decision. Finally, curiosity got the better of the fight and Elsa silently made her way down the hall. As she got nearer, Elise was sure she never heard this particular tune before. In fact, it didn't even fit into any style of music Elise could think of. Elise wanted to tell herself it was the tune that drew her closer, but she knew she couldn't fool herself with the real reason.

_Just turn around, what are you trying to accomplish?_

Elise's mind was in a tug of war with itself.

_I just want to see.  
_   
_See what? You know what's there._

_Yes, but I want to see her_.

Elise's body never stopped moving and before she knew it she was standing at the edge. Her curiosity had won out. She held her breath as she carefully peeked her head around the corner.

The sight almost made Elise gasp. Elsa was standing completely naked by the filled tub while undoing her braid. Her back was to the entrance, so Elise couldn't see her front side. But it was enough to send Elise over the edge. Her eyes traced up and down Elsa's porcelain skin making sure to ingrain every spot into her mind. Elise spent extra time on Elsa's behind. And she definitely had the time to spare since Elsa's braid was being difficult. It was the same braid since the morning of Elise and Anna's fight, Elsa had just simply not bothered taking it out.

_She even has some freckles on her butt._

And then Elsa turned around. Elise froze, but to her instant relief, Elsa's eyes were closed as she hummed away. Elsa only faced her a few seconds before moving to the tub and her body disappeared into the water, but it was all the time Elise needed.

It felt like an eternity as Elise traced her eyes from her sister's collarbone down the full length of her body. Her eyes were instantly attracted to her breasts, which looked just as Elise imagined down to her nipples. They looked just like her own and Elise was fond of her own. The bitter cold had made Elsa's nipples extra hard, which Elise didn't mind one bit. Elise was used to that anyway.

As her eyes moved southward, Elise noticed that Elsa wasn't much larger than herself, which surprised her a bit. She thought Elsa would be at least a little fatter considering their major differences in diet growing up. Perhaps Elsa simply didn't eat much.

Elise's eyes passed over Elsa's torso and navel, already imagining herself passionately kissing the milky-toned smooth surface. Then her eyes reached Elsa's waist. Elise didn't even get a chance to check out her hips, she was too distracted by the platinum-blonde curls in the center. The color complimented her skin tone much better than Elise's own pitch-black pubes did. And it was so much more neatly trimmed than Elise's own.

_Must be part of the royal treatment._

When Elise found the slit hidden beneath those curls, she had lost it. She turned and backed away silently down the hall, just as Elsa's body disappeared into the water of the tub. When she felt she was a safe distance away, Elise made a beeline for one of the smaller empty rooms. Her ice dress had melted away before she even flopped down on the snow bed she had just created. Elise's hand shot down to touch herself before she even settled into the bed. She was already well soaked.

Elise wasted no time, inserting two fingers while her thumb played with her clit and her other hand fondled her breasts. In her mind, she found herself entangled on the bed with a naked Elsa, while Elsa touched her in the same way she was doing to herself. Elise paused to bring her drenched fingers to her mouth, imaging it was her sister she was tasting for the first time, before resuming. Elise liked the way she tasted herself, and she couldn't help but imagine that Elsa tasted even better.

Elise was getting so close now and she briefly thought about conjuring up a shaft of ice, but shot the idea down. Elsa would probably be unfamiliar with such an activity and wouldn't think of using toys. Instead, she curled her two fingers up at just right the moment to hit her special spot, imaging it was Elsa who had just found it. Elise's hips bucked off the bed and in the last second, she brought a hand up to cover her mouth.

It was a good thing, because even her muffled moan of 'Oh, Elsa' could still be heard throughout the room. Thankfully, only there and nowhere else.

It felt like an eternity before Elise came down from her orgasm. Even after she thought she came down, her cunt continued to hold onto her fingers tightly. She pulled them out with a moist pop that only served to turn her on further. Elise continued to lie while she let her body fully relax. Only when she felt herself loosen up did Elise allow herself to sit up.

_That was the most intense orgasm I've ever had._

The sight between her legs had confirmed it. Her inner thighs were moist down to her knees and her pitch-black pubes were frosted white. All moisture directly surrounding her slit was frozen. Elise held up the two fingers that had been inside her. The juices on them were frozen too. Elise smirked to herself.

_I was looking forward to licking you clean too. Damn, I haven't frosted myself like this since I was a teenager._

Elise plopped back down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Dread and despair was starting to fill in the gaps left by her emotional high as she thought about what she had just done.

_I've just saw my twin sister naked then masturbated while pretending I was having sex with her._

Elise didn't have to lay there long before she made up her mind.

"This has to end tonight. I have to confess to her before this goes any further."

Elise got off the bed and walked towards the doorway. Whatever bodily fluid that remained in liquid form she froze then willed all the foreign ice in the room, snow bed and all, to thaw and disappear into nothingness. By the time she reached the doorway, her ice dress had reappeared as well.

* * *

Elise sat at her place at the balcony-side table staring off into the landscape when she heard footsteps approaching. She turned around to find Elise approaching with two steaming bowls of stew. Elise placed one down in front of her spot and placed the other one in front of Elsa. "Eat up, I don't think it'll stay warm for long out here."

Their dinner wasn't exactly what one would call a romantic dinner by the sunset. It wasn't too bad though for the view was magnificent. During the meal, Elsa and Elise traded a few smiles, but nothing was said. Elise kept fidgeting and her eyes looked deep in thought. Elsa knew the bitter cold would cool their food down fast, but she didn't expect the liquid in Elise's bowl to congeal as fast as it did. Elsa's own food was still lukewarm when she noticed the liquid in Elise's stew congealing.

Elsa reached out to sense the ice that made up her palace. Sure enough, she sensed a foreign source of power flowing into it. Elise was leaking magic and directing it into the palace to throw Elsa off.

 _Which means she can't control it._  
  
After Elsa finished, she decided to break the tension. "Beautiful sunset, wasn't it?" The sky was already turning dark. The Northern Lights would be out soon.

"Huh? Oh, yes, it was." Elsa barely knew Elise for a week and she could tell that was a lie. Just as Elsa suspected, Elise hadn't even seen it.

This was too much for Elsa. The everything-is-alright facade that she was putting up all day was taking its toll. Elsa was exhausted from pretending and to add to her predicament, their snowball fight from earlier added physical fatigue on top of her already mental strain. Even the bath that Elsa hoped would give her some energy had failed. Adding on even more emotional weight, Elsa now knew that Elise was losing control of her magic for reasons that Elsa theorized were her own fault.

Since a bath hadn't worked and a vacation had obviously not worked either, Elsa needed something else. What Elsa really needed now was her only option left. Elsa needed a drink.

"I packed a bottle of wine. Do you want to share a drink with me?"

Elise seemed to consider turning down the offer for a moment. Elsa wasn't even sure if Elise had ever even drunk alcohol. If that was the case, Elsa was going to drink anyway, but Elise decided to accept.

* * *

Elise had never drank before, but she knew why people did. When Elsa offered her a drink, she eventually caved into the desire for an opportunity to calm her nerves. Her nerves were pretty shot by then because when Elsa offered her another one, she all too eagerly accepted. It didn't take long for Elise to start calming down, but she craved more and apparently so had Elsa. In fact, Elsa had packed more than a single bottle of wine, she had packed several. One drink had turned into two which turned into three, then four, and finally ended on their fifth. Elsa had just broken out the last bottle. Elise was feeling a lot better now though.

Elsa giggled as she playfully shoved Elise. "No, she's not that dumb."

"I'm serious, she's an idiot. I bet I could make a snowman smarter than she is."

Elsa giggled and shoved Elise's shoulder again. "Shut up, that's my sister you're talking about. Anna's not stupid, just a little klutzy."

Elise raised her eyebrow. "Just a little?"

Elsa narrowed her eyes at Elise then burst out laughing. "Okay, maybe a little more than a little." Elsa got up off the ground with her glass and headed towards the half empty wine bottle that they specifically placed away from them to avoid drinking anymore. She didn't make it two steps before tripping over her feet and almost landing on top of Elise.

Elise watched Elsa sit back up and to her relief she was fine. "Anna must take after her older sister."

Elsa rolled her eyes and smiled. "Are you quite done teasing?" She sat up on her knees and forcefully shoved Elise backwards, but Elise managed to grab onto Elsa's wrists as she flailed to the ground and pulled Elsa with her. Elise landed on her back with Elsa strewn on top of her. They were both laughing hysterically.

Their laughter died down and they continued to lie there as they were. For a moment, Elise felt like she should remove Elsa from on top of her, but Elsa was staring into her eyes and she couldn't help but to stare back.

Then Elsa moved closer. Or maybe she was moving closer, Elise wasn't even sure. Her breathing had come to a complete halt and time seemed to slow down to a standstill. Elsa's eyes had since become half-lidded, but so had her own. Elise could feel Elsa's unkempt bangs falling onto her face. Elsa's braid dangled from the side of her face and brushed against Elise's face when a breeze moved it. Almost on instinct, Elise's hands held onto Elsa's torso and slid up the curvature of her body. Their faces were so close now that she could feel Elsa's breath on her flushed skin. It was unusually ice cold and sent shock waves down Elise's body as it came in contact with Elsa's heated skin.

Their lips were now only a few centimeters apart when Elise felt Elsa's whole body go rigid and her shallow breathing suddenly hitched. Elise fully opened her eyes and found Elsa's wide open in absolute terror. She never got a chance to process her thoughts when Elsa launched herself off the floor and walked back into the palace at the fastest pace short of running.

"I'm going to bed. Goodnight," Elsa said in the flattest tone she could manage as she exited the balcony. Elise continued to lie there trying to process what just happened. She didn't like the conclusion her mind reached.

_I just tried to kiss her. Whelp, it's over. I might as well go confess everything else and see what happens. What more could I ruin anyway?_

Elise stood up and grabbed the bottle of wine, determined to prepare herself for the upcoming conversation. As she brought the bottle to her lips, she realized that it was the alcohol that caused Elise to betray her better judgment. Her grip tightened and the liquid inside froze in a millisecond. A large crack formed along its side, but the bottle didn't shatter. She reached for the edge of the balcony to throw the bottle over and as Elise stared into the abyss, she seriously considered sending herself over instead. It was a whole five minutes and a few fallen tears before Elise made up her mind. She tossed the bottle of wine over the edge and turned away.

_I owe Elsa an explanation first. That's the least I can do._

To Elise's relief, Elsa had actually returned to the bedroom like she said she would. When Elise arrived, Elsa was already under the covers and asleep. She knew better though, Elsa was only pretending to be asleep.

Elise quickly changed into her night gown and climbed into bed, but stayed sitting up.

"Listen, Elsa. I know you're awake and we have some things to talk about." Elise opened her mouth to continue, but Elsa suddenly interrupted by bursting into tears.

Elsa started sobbing and it made her heart sink further. "I-I'm so s-sorry, Elise. I can't help it, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Elsa's apology surprised and confused Elise but those feelings soon became anger when she realized that Elsa must have been blaming herself. With renewed energy, Elise flipped over to Elsa's side of the bed and kneeled over her, making sure to stay a raised full-arm length above her sobbing sister. "Stop!"

The command worked as Elsa's sobbing immediately came to a stop and she stared up at Elise wide-eyed. Elise knew she must've looked angry, and she hoped Elsa wouldn't think that anger was directed towards her. It seemed to her though, that Elsa was trying to sink deeper into the bed.

"Just shut up and listen, okay?!" Elise waited until Elsa nodded her head before continuing. "Stop blaming yourself for this. This is my fault, none of it is yours. I've ruined all of this. Do you understand?" But Elsa just stared back up at Elise, unblinking.

"I love you, Elsa. I'm in love with you. Do you understand that? I want you more than a sister. I want you as a partner, as a lover. I know it's wrong, but I want – no I crave it. Ever since I met you, I knew it was different. At first I thought it was a familial feeling, but I was wrong. It was more. And I've lost control of myself. I know it's so wrong, but I don't care. I can't care, all I think about is you; being with you, talking to you, looking at you, touching you on every part of your body." Tears were falling freely from Elise's eyes. They were landing on Elsa's face, but they unfazed her. Elsa's face remained impassive.

"I love you so much, I can't help it. And I've let it ruin whatever bond we've managed to build up. I've ruined everything. I just love you so much, I can't help it." Elise paused for a moment to compose herself and lowered her voice to a whisper. "I love you, Elsa, I can't live without you. But I really am a monster."

* * *

Elsa was too stunned to move, to breath, to even blink. She had heard everything crystal clear, but she could barely keep up with it. Her emotions had been riding on a stormy sea since dinner and the near-kiss incident had overloaded her emotions. If Anna hadn't been waiting for her back at home, Elsa probably would have gone to the edge of the balcony rather than the bedroom. This new revelation from Elise was just...Elsa didn't even know where to begin.

_Did she just say she was in love with me? Like the way I'm in love with her?_

Elsa's mind replayed Elise's confession.

_Did she really not have any clue about my own lust?_

Her mind went over the possible scenarios.

_What if this is a trick to make me confess?_

Elsa focused on the tear-filled blue eyes staring down at her.

_No, this is no trick._

Another one of Elise's tears fell onto Elsa's face. It landed on her lips and Elsa could taste it and reminded her that her sister was still there and waiting on some kind of response.

_But what can I do? What could I possibly say?_

It didn't take long for Elsa to figure it out. She let her body relax and her lips formed into slight grin. Elise's brows knitted in confusion and then Elsa sat up, wrapped her arms around Elise's neck and brought their lips together in a kiss. It was a kiss that Elsa had never given nor received. It was a kiss reserved for a lover.

Elise tensed up immediately, but quickly stopped all form of resistance and lowered them both down to the bed. Elsa wasn't sure what to do next, until she remembered Anna's kissing advice, which was now echoing through mind. Elsa probed the entrance of Elise's mouth with her tongue and Elise let her in. Elsa couldn't help but smile further as the kiss went on. She was actually making out with her identical twin sister as images of Anna trying to explain how to kiss flashed through her mind. It was bizarre, but it felt so right.

Eventually, Elsa felt like she was suffocating. Then she remembered more of Anna's words. _The most important part is remembering to breath, Elsa. I almost died kissing Kristoff because I forgot to breath._ Elsa pulled away, eliciting a small whine from Elise as they broke contact. They both opened their eyes at the same time and made eye contact.

Their first kiss was very sloppy and awkward; Elsa could even see some saliva dribbling down Elise's cheek. She let out small chuckle and wiped it away with her hand. Her other one had found its way onto the back of Elise's head earlier. It stayed where it was, Elsa had need for that later. Elsa fixed her eyes back onto Elise's. "I guess that makes me a monster too."

Elsa dived back in, forcing Elise's head to meet her own. Their teeth painfully clicked together and their lips were probably going to be bruised, but Elsa refused to care. Elise didn't either. Elsa and Elise had to break apart three more times for air, but kept going right back in. By the third time, they managed to not violently mash their mouths together, though they were no less sloppy.

Elsa felt her thighs clench as Elise's hand traveled down the length of her body to the hem of her night gown and back up, underneath her clothing. Elsa let it continue since Elise's thigh had been grinding between her legs making her go mad with lust. But then she felt the hand reach her inner thigh, and she only then realized how wet she was getting. Fear and concern broke through Elsa's adrenaline rush.

Elsa pulled out of their kiss. "Wait! Wait! I'm not ready for that."

Elise's eyes widened and her hand left Elsa's nightgown. In the dim light, Elsa could make out the glistening on her fingers. It made Elise feel a little ashamed. "Elsa, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take it too far, I was just excited."

Elsa made a small smile and pulled her in for one much simpler kiss on the lips. "I know, I just don't think I'm ready for that yet." Despite what was happening, Elsa yawned. "We're both excited and we have a lot to talk about though, but it can wait until morning. Right now I just want to hold you and go to sleep."

"Me too."

Elsa nuzzled up against Elise and wrapped her arms around her while Elise pulled the covers over them. Elsa held on tight so that when she awoke the next morning and found Elise in her arms, she would know it wasn't just an elaborate dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you beta readers.
> 
> Sorry for the delay, got caught up in the happenings. Btw, if there's a happening worth staying up all night watching streams going on, there's a good chance my updates will be slower. Sorry in advance.
> 
> As for my guest reviewers (from ff.net).
> 
> Ro: "Hi, it's me again, I like your fic and I don't want to seem rude but there is one little error, in the 10th chapter you said that the animols pulling the sled were reindeers but now you say that those are horses, just saying... and I hated Anna because she was being mean to little Elise"
> 
> Thanks for pointing that out. All three of us missed that. It's been fixed though. Again thanks for pointing it out. Don't be so hard on Anna, things are different now.
> 
> Thanks for reading and please review. I like reviews and they're useful.


	13. Ground Rules

**Chapter 13: Ground Rules**

* * *

Elsa sat on the far end of the snow sofa in silence as the morning light filtered into the room while on the other end sat Elise. Despite their new relationship, Elsa felt wary about the whole situation. She was thrilled to wake up and find that her dream was in fact not a dream, but once the adrenalin and alcohol from last night had worn off it left her feeling timid and unsure about herself. So when she invited Elise to have a talk with her in the main hall, she decided to sit a pointed distance away. This upcoming conversation was far too important for Elsa's mind to get distracted by such intimate contact anyway. Thankfully it seemed as if Elise hadn't taken offense.

When Elsa woke up earlier that morning, her only concern was if last night had actually been real. Even after waking up with Elise in her arms, it took a morning kiss from her sister to fully convince Elsa. It didn't take long however, for the reality to catch up with her dream come true. Elsa had a burning desire to just stay in bed and snuggle with Elise, but she knew there were problems and issues they both had to figure out first. Unfortunately, Elsa hadn't really thought these through while she fantasied so in order to clear them up, she had asked Elise to join her to discuss it. It wasn't helping that Elsa's anxiety over personal contact was starting to flare up now that she had time to sober, which now left the two lovers separated when they should've been together.

Elsa realized that the silence that surrounded them was beginning to cause discomfort as Elise's face began to show. Elsa was simply unsure what to say. "I...don't know where to begin."

The concern that the silence created on Elise's face didn't disappear.

"I can't believe this is happening," Elsa continued.

Elise seemed to relax and her mood brightened. "I can't either. This feels like a dream I haven't woken up from." Elsa guessed that Elise might have been afraid Elsa was changing her mind. After all, Elsa had barely said anything all morning except asking her to have this talk. Elsa was too shocked and excited to know what to say and Elise probably took that the wrong way.

"This is no dream. This is real and I couldn't be any happier I love you so much, but..."

"But what?" Elise prodded. Elsa noticed her body tensing up once again.

"This is so _wrong_."

"So?"

Elsa nearly scoffed at her twin. "So? Do you have any idea how wrong this is? Do you have any idea what would happen if people found out?"

Elise shrugged and nervously played with her unkempt black hair. "Yes. What are you trying to say, Elsa?"

She feared Elise was getting the wrong message again. "No, it's not like that. I want to be with you, I love you. It's just that this is so very wrong and it's not like I care that it's wrong, but I have other responsibilities too."

"Like the Kingdom and Anna."

"Yes, exactly. I want to be with you, but I also have to take care of Anna and Arendelle."

Elise sighed in frustration. "Elsa, just get to the point please. Can we love each other or not?"

Elsa didn't mean to hurt Elise, but she found herself at a sudden inability to speak her mind and it was causing obvious discomfort for her twin. This was no council session. It was worse. "Of course, but with concessions. We have to lay down some uh...ground rules."

"Ground rules? Concessions?"

Elsa snapped and bolted up off the sofa raising her voice. "Don't you understand? Our love is forbidden! If they find out about us, we die. The whole family name will be soiled, Arendelle will be left to squanderers, and Anna, God knows what would happen to her." Elsa's eyes were watery by the time she sat back down and lowered her voice again. "I just don't want to lose you both."

Elise shrunk back into her seat at Elsa's outburst and waited until she had composed herself before speaking. "I think I understand. Please go on."

"Well...first of all no one can find out, obviously. We can only be together like this in complete privacy. Absolutely no public shows of affection, not a single thing that would suggest we're involved...romantically." Elise nodded in understanding and sat up straight again. It seemed like Elise had moved slightly closer to Elsa though, from where she was sitting before Elsa's outburst. "We have to put up a front when we're around other people, we have to appear like normal sisters. We have to conceal this, Elise, they cannot know."

Elsa paused when a sudden sense of déjà vu filled her with dread. _Conceal, don't feel. Don't let them know._ Elsa's terrible mantra from what felt like a past life, had come back to haunt her. "Oh Lord, I can't believe I'm going to say this."

"What?" Elise shifted in her spot and appeared to move closer again.

"Conceal, don't feel. Don't let them know. It was my old mantra that I'd used to try keeping my powers in check. It didn't work, but I guess I was using it for the wrong situation. It fits perfectly for are current predicament."

"Conceal, don't feel. Don't let them know," Elise repeated the mantra and Elsa suddenly felt like she had gone through this before except from a different perspective. Elsa felt like her own father, but it was the chill that ran down her spine that made Elsa feel sympathy toward him. He was only trying to protect her, as Elsa was doing now for Elise.

"I'm afraid this statement will be a significant feature of any relationship we have." The only bright side that Elsa could think of was that thanks to her existing loosely-defined sisterly relationship with Anna, Elsa and Elise would be able to get away with a lot more while not in complete privacy. It was well known that Elsa and Anna had a sisterly relationship that was beyond normal and it was going pay off for Elsa and Elise's relationship. Of course, if Anna was in the loop that would solve half their problems anyway, but...

"Anna."

Elsa looked at her twin with caution. "What about Anna?"

"Anna has to know." Elise was dead set and her tone authoritative.

"Absolutely not."

"She's our sister, she's family. She deserves to know." Elsa remained silent as she took Elise's words in. "Not to mention, it would make things a lot easier. I haven't been here very long, but I can already tell that you don't get much privacy. You shouldn't have to decide between Anna and I who you're going to spend those few moments with. It's not fair to you and it's not fair to Anna."

Elise didn't have to argue her point, Elsa already knew the benefits. It was true, Elsa didn't have much time alone and with the little time she had, she spent it with Anna. If Anna was to be kept in the dark, Elsa would have to spend even less time with her in order to have some privacy with Elise. But the risk losing Anna was far too great. "I can't. I'd rather end this thing here now than to lose Anna. I can't risk losing her."

Elsa's conviction only served to anger Elise. "Losing Anna over this? What is wrong with you, Elsa? I haven't even been here for two weeks and already I've figured out Anna better than you." Elsa was mortified by Elise's scornful attitude. _Not even twenty four hours in and we're already fighting._ "Anna loves you. She's stuck with you through so much, she didn't leave you when you shut her out, she didn't leave you when your–er, our parents died, she didn't leave you when you revealed your powers, she didn't even leave you when you froze her heart." The words stung Elsa's heart, but Elise continued with her voice dropping down to a whisper and losing its earlier bite. "She even sacrificed herself for you. She's not going to leave you over this either."

Elsa focused her gaze onto the icy floor when Elise finished. They sat there in silence as Elsa refused to meet Elise's gaze, which Elsa could feel boring through her like a hot poker through an ice block. In truth, Elsa had no idea how Anna would react. However, she did know Elise wasn't going to back down. Elsa finally returned her eyes to Elise who had somehow covered half the distance between them since their conversation started. "Fine. I'll tell her."

"Promise?"

Elsa felt anxious as she noticed Elise subtly inch her way closer. "I promise," Elsa declared. Her statement lacked all the confidence that a queen should have though. It had gone out the window when Elsa noticed the pure carnal look on Elise's face.

"Good." Elise's voice had become downright sensual. Elsa's anxiety flared up fully as Elise disregarded subtleness and covered the distance between them in one swift movement. Elsa's body went stiff and her heart rate fluttered as Elise settled down with her body pressed up against hers. She felt light headed as Elise's face moved closer to her own, her breathing becoming heavier as she struggled to stay under control as her own vision blurred. Before Elsa could black out, Elise took notice of Elsa's deteriorating state and pulled back with concern replacing lust. "What's wrong?"

The light headed feeling went away and Elsa regained control of her breathing. She had been dangerously close to hyperventilating. Neither twin had taken noticed of the extra chill in the air or the extra layer of ice that covered the floor in their states of lust and anxiety. "I'm sorry, but despite last night's events, I really don't know what I'm doing nor am I comfortable with it." Elsa immediately took noticed of the hurt in Elise's eyes. "No, it's not like that. It's not like I'm uncomfortable with you or what we have, it's just that..."

"You're not used to being so intimate?"

Elsa smiled at Elise's understanding. "Yes, that's it. I'm sorry, it's just—"

"No, I get it," Elise interrupted. "I just need to get you out of your shell is all."

"Wait, what?"

Elise renewed her attack and dove straight in. Elsa's anxiety flared up again and this time she felt the ice leaving her finger tips and watched it ghost across the arms of the twin that she was now clinging onto with an iron grip. Elsa's vision didn't last long though, as their lips collided together. Her eyes slammed shut and she didn't get to see the ice on Elise's arms disappear. Not that she would have noticed anyway. Her previous anxiety disappeared as she melted into their kiss. Euphoria replaced anxiety, giddiness replaced light-headedness, lust replaced fear as Elise pushed Elsa back into the snow-cushion and Elsa felt like she was melting from the heat of Elise's contact alone.

It was Elsa who finally pulled away. "I could get used to this."

"Good, because I could, too."

Elsa shifted in her spot so that she was reclined in a more comfortable position. She physically moved Elise along with her as she had no intention of letting her sister get away, despite the fact that Elsa's skin felt like it was on fire with Elise on top of her. Elise got the point and shifted so she was comfortable herself then rested her head in the crook of Elsa's neck.

"So, about these ground rules?" When the vibrations from Elise voice made contact with Elsa's flushed skin, she made a sound that could only be described as some kind of cross between a whimper and a purr. Surely if she'd been standing up, Elsa would have collapsed to the floor by now.

_I could cuddle like this for the rest of my life and be content._

"Elsa? These rules aren't going to discuss themselves. Elsa?" Elsa didn't respond, though her eyes were open and she appeared conscious. What Elise couldn't tell from her position was that Elsa's eyes were staring off into oblivion. "Elllsssaaa?"

Elise stopped bothering and decided to try snuggling closer, if that was even possible. Elsa had probably just gone delirious, but Elise figured she'd snap out of it eventually. Hopefully.

* * *

Their sleigh sped down the empty cobblestone streets of Arendelle as Elsa and Elise made their return home. Darkness had since fallen and the streets were mostly empty, but Elsa encouraged Elise's frozen reindeer to pick up the pace. She didn't want to gain the attention of the townspeople, especially since Elise had yet to be introduced to them, something Elsa had to change soon. For good measure, they decided to modify the sleigh to include a covered top, though the ice structure was sure to attract attention on its own.

Elsa gave Elise's arm a reassuring squeeze. "Remember what we talked about, Elise." Elise had been snuggled up against Elsa for most of the ride and had only backed off when they entered city limits. Their arms remained intertwined though, and already Elsa was growing nervous that if someone saw them, if they somehow managed to see within the covered sleigh, they would suspect something. Despite Elsa's warnings, Elise leaned over gave Elsa a chaste kiss on her cheek. Elsa would have been angered had it not been for the thought that this would be their last intimate moment together, probably until tomorrow evening.

Earlier that day back at her ice palace, Elsa had finally come out of her delirium and they started going over the concessions of their relationship. It felt odd treating their relationship like some kind of contract, but Elsa knew it was necessary. She just wished she could figure out a way to make it better, at least something that didn't involve telling Anna. Elsa was planning on telling Anna tonight and the thought of it was causing butterflies in Elsa's stomach. It only got worse as they got closer to the castle.

Following their talk, Elsa and Elise had done nothing the rest of the day but snuggle up together. They had barely moved until it was time to go at sunset. For Elsa, it more than made up for the two days that had been wasted on angst and self-imposed drama. She and Elise were both fully relaxed and ready for the week ahead of them. It was going to be a busy week, Elsa knew, with the ongoing negotiations with the Americans. Not to mention Elsa still had to introduce the new Crown Princess of Arendelle to the people. _Maybe we can do that on Saturday._

The castle loomed ahead of them and before Elsa knew it, their sleigh was coming to a stop within the courtyard. Kai and several footmen were already outside waiting to greet Her Majesty.

"Remember, conceal don't feel."

"Don't let them know. Yes, I know, Elsa"

"We live by that and nothing will go wrong."

"Just like last time, right?"

Before Elsa could respond to Elise's snide remark, Kai was at the door to help them out.

"Good evening, your majesty, your highness. Welcome home. I trust your trip went well."

"Yes, it did, Kai. Very well indeed." Elsa imagined Elise giving her a sly grin. She didn't dare look at her to confirm.

"Excellent. I'll have the footmen bring your luggage up to your rooms right away. Is there anything I can do for you in the meantime?"

"No, there...well, actually, yes, you can. Where is my sister?" Anna was nowhere to be seen, which slightly disturbed Elsa.

"Ah yes, Princess Anna is currently in your study. She asked not to be disturbed, but I believe she would have wanted to come down to greet you had we known when you were coming in. Shall I fetch her for you?"

"No, I'll go to her. Thank you, Kai. Oh, and one more thing, I want to see you and the Chancellor at our usual time in the morning so we can go over what I've missed over the past few days. Unless of course, there's something vital that needs my attention tonight."

Kai shook his head. "Nothing happened that requires your immediate attention, your majesty. Would that be all?"

"Yes, that is all. I'll be retiring to my room for the night after I fetch my sister. Goodnight, Kai" Elsa turned to the castle and motioned for Elise to follow her.

Elsa and Elise made their way to the study in silence. When they arrived, Elsa hesitated at the door. At the last moment, Elsa decided to knock. It was the proper thing to do since Anna was still technically in charge at least for the next few seconds.

"Enter," Anna's voice announced with decisiveness that Elsa seldom heard.

Elsa opened the door and entered with Elise following. She was going to offer a greeting, but her voice caught in her throat at the sight in front of her. Anna was sitting at Elsa's desk, which was neat and orderly, with her eyes focused on a book laid out on the desk. But what got Elsa was her appearance. Anna was wearing a very regal dress, one that Anna usually reserved only for official occasions, and her hair was done up the same why Elsa put up her own. If it weren't for the missing crown in her hair, one might mistake Anna for the real Queen of Arendelle. It was actually eerie how much Anna was attempting to look similar to Elsa.

Without looking up from her book, Anna spoke to them again with the same tone. "What is it, Kai? Has my sister returned yet?" When Elsa and Elise failed to respond, Anna finally decided to look up. "Kai, wh—oh, Elsa you're home." Uncharacteristically, Anna calmly stood up and strolled over to the twins showing no emotions other than a simple, genuine smile. In a situation like this, Elsa expected Anna to great them with overzealous excitement. Anything short of that meant there was bad news. But Anna showed no sign sorrow or despair either. Anna was not acting normal. "It's good to see you both. Did your trip go well?"

Elsa was still puzzled, even as Anna embraced her in a welcome home hug. "What happened to you? This is not my Anna..." Elsa asked cautiously.

"Whatever do you mean, Elsa?" Anna turned to Elise and embraced her too. "Hello, Elise dear. Welcome home." Elise looked just as puzzled as Elsa felt.

When Anna walked over to the study's divan and saw Elsa's questionable eyebrow, Anna's facade finally fell. Anna lost all her former regal bearing before collapsing onto the piece of furniture behind her, while covering her face with her arm in a dramatic pose. "God, being you is so tough."

Elsa and Elise both giggled at Anna's show. That was the Anna that Elsa knew. "You didn't have to be me literally, Anna. I'm impressed, though, at your dedication. Did everything go well?"

"Oh, of course. It was actually kind of fun, pretending to be you. But yeah, everything went well. How about you? Are you well rested and relaxed?"

Elsa stole a glance at Elise. "Yes, it was a good trip."

Anna flipped onto her stomach and stared up at them with her face resting on her hands. "Ooo, you're going to have to tell me all about it then."

"Uh, maybe later, Anna, it's getting kind of late." Elsa felt heat rising to her cheeks. "What were you doing anyway?" she asked trying to change the topic.

"Oh, I was just doing some paperwork then I was just going to read until you got back. Busy day actually, first I..." Anna trailed off as something behind Elsa caught her attention. "Are you okay, Elise?"

Elsa turned around to find Elise glaring in her direction. "You know what, Anna, I think I need to have a word with you." Elsa had forgotten that she needed to give Anna the _talk_. _I think I'd rather do this alone though._ "In private."

Anna's smile dropped. "Ookay."

"Let me just see Elise off to bed first. Stay here, I'll be right back." Elsa pushed Elise out the door and closed it behind them before Anna had time to respond.

"What was that all about?" Elise demanded.

"I'll tell her, but I want to do it alone." Elsa answered when she felt they were a safe distance away from Anna's curious ears.

For a moment, Elsa thought Elise was going to argue, but she didn't. "Fine. But you better do it. Promise?"

"Yes, I promise. Just go to bed." Elsa made sure the hallway was clear then leaned in and kissed Elise on the lips. "Goodnight, Elise."

Elise turned to go. "Sweet dreams, Elsa." Elsa watched her go, trying to savor the sight. Elise turned her head around and gave Elsa a wink before rounding the corner and going out of view. With a sigh, Elsa returned to the study door and opened it.

Anna was pacing back and forth when Elsa stepped inside. Elsa was relieved that Anna hadn't been trying to eavesdrop, but was concerned over her state of worry. "Anna."

"Elsa, what's going on? What's this about? Did something happen?" Anna's voice betrayed her panic. Elsa felt guilty for causing this by acting so irrational earlier.

Elsa stared into Anna's eyes as she tried to find the courage to speak. Anna was now holding onto Elsa's hands and staring back. She took notice of Elsa's mouth trying to form words and gave Elsa's hands a reassuring squeeze to encourage her to speak. "I...uh..I..."

"It's okay, Elsa, you can tell me anything," Anna whispered.

But Elsa couldn't. "It's nothing. I'm just...I'm so proud of you, Anna."

"Oh, is that it?" Anna didn't seem convinced. "I didn't think I did much and you haven't even heard any details."

"I've heard enough. You were very responsible and I'm very proud of you." She drew Anna into a hug which she refused to let end. She held onto Anna tightly, who in turn held back, that is until her little sister yawned a few minutes later. "We can talk about the reign of Princess Anna later, but right now I think you should run off to bed, sleepyhead."

With Anna finally off to bed, Elsa walked over to her desk and promptly collapsed into her chair. "Elise is going to kill me".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you to my beta readers like always.
> 
> Just one thing I got to say about this chapter, Papa Aren was right!
> 
> To my Guest Reviewers (from ff.net):
> 
> Ro: "with this chapter I was on the edge every single moment, then the confession and the kiss happened and OH My GOD you answered my review and Jesus Christ you don't know how happy I am right now :D"
> 
> Glad you enjoyed it. I actually encourage you to review, ask questions, or point out mistakes. It's like extra betaing and it improves my writing. I'll answer every question I can. As long I'm not getting like 20 reviews a chapter, it's pretty easy to answer all my reviewers.
> 
> Guest: "Love this story! Please update"
> 
> Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the review.


	14. Christening

It didn't take long for Elise to learn of Elsa's betrayal. By the next morning, Elsa had come to her, almost in tears, confessing that she had chickened out. At first Elise had been angry, she had felt betrayed. However, as the day went on, she began to come to her senses. She had to see this from Elsa's perspective, she thought. This wasn't an easy thing for Elsa to do and she realized that. Most importantly, this was something that Elsa had to decide on her own.

Elise's thoughts were interrupted when she turned to look over at Elsa sitting behind her desk. She was in the middle of paperwork, her face scrunched up in concentration. _Who could ever be angry at that face._

Elise had decided to drop the subject for now. She was going to let Elsa choose when and if she was going to break the news to Anna. She just hoped it would be soon. As Elsa had warned, trying to be in a relationship was tough. Over the last few days, she and Elsa had few intimate moments and what little time they had left over from work or studying, they had spent it with Anna. Elise knew Elsa was trying to make up for lost time with Anna and Elise really didn't mind, she was finally getting along with her younger sister anyway but she wished they could be themselves in front of their sister at least.

The last few days were also a learning experience. The young couple was learning how much they could practice their forbidden relationship. When it was appropriate to hug, where it was safe to steal kisses, how intimate they could take their touching in public, where the safest places were for privacy, and so on. Things were improving as they learned, but still things would have been a lot simpler if Anna knew.

Elise glanced at the clock in Elsa's study. _Five of_. She stood up, placing her plate on the serving tray as she walked to the door. Usually, they tried eating their lunch together in the sun room, but today Elsa chose to work and eat. Elise still joined her, but they mostly remained silent. Elsa was well immersed in her work. It pained Elise to watch, the poor girl was going to work herself to death. Elise wished she could help share the burden in some way.

"I have to go meet Kai," Elise announced. "I'll be back when I'm finished with my lessons." Her only answer was Elsa looking up and giving her a smile before she was lost again in her work. Elise paused with her hand on the doorknob. Instead of opening the door, she changed course and walked over to behind Elsa's desk. Without waiting for Elsa to notice her presence, Elise gently grabbed Elsa's chin, lifted it, and closed the distance between their lips.

Elise broke the kiss a few moments later, as she did have to leave, which elicited a whimper from Elsa as she walked out of the room. _Peppermint._ Elise could taste the peppermint from the kiss and loved it. Elsa just so happened to start tasting like peppermint the morning after Elise had told Elsa that her new favorite treat was peppermint. Funny how that happened like that.

As Elise walked to her lessons, she tried bringing her mind back to the upcoming weekend. Her lessons had taken precedence over working with Elsa when it had been decided that she was to be baptized into the church and christened as a princess of Arendelle this coming weekend. The Queen also planned on making a public address to introduce the new Crown Princess to the public. Kai and Gerda were now working non-stop to try and prepare her for the event that was now only a few days away.

She dreaded the upcoming ceremony, but not as much as what was to come afterwards. Elise wasn't comfortable around people or crowds and it would have been one thing to just stand there in front of an audience while Elsa spoke, but it wasn't just that. Afterwards, Elsa wanted the crown princess to mingle with the crowd, mostly nobles and a few government officials. Elsa said it would be good for her, however Elise suspected Elsa had no desire to mingle herself. Either the Queen had been pressured by her council to make Elise mingle for their own sake or she had been pressured by Anna. Elise suspected it was a little bit of both.

* * *

The day of Elise's dread had finally arrived. So far though, it was off to a good start. Her baptism into the church had taken place in the morning and luckily it was a private affair; only Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, Kai, and Gerda were in attendance. Her only family. Elise had gone through the motions and everything went well—no water was frozen. She felt a little guilty though, as she didn't consider herself a true believer. But the baptism was a necessity for Elise to be christened as a princess as the law said, so she had to do it whether she believed or not. Perhaps Elise would give religion a chance though, both her sisters were devote believers after all.

Afterward, Gerda went to work preparing her for the Christening ceremony. Within a few hours, Elise was back in the church and dressed accordingly in a royal gown with her hair down and a generous amount of makeup. Unlike the baptism, the audience now was much larger despite the fact that the ceremony had been planned on such short notice that there wasn't time to invite foreign dignitaries, so only local nobles, government officials, and powerful merchants were in attendance. The ceremony started off with Elise hidden from view, followed by some words from the bishop, and then a speech from the queen. After her speech, Elsa presented Elise to the audience who most of which had yet to see their new crown princess and only heard rumors of her identical appearance to the queen. The ooo's and awe's that accompanied Elise's presentation caused her to visibly blush, but otherwise she did nothing to mess up. The bishop conducted the actual Christening which thankfully required none of Elise's cooperation. Though the young kingdom had only conducted two such ceremonies before, one for Elsa and one for Anna, the Christening was supposed to be reserved for infants. When the ceremony was finished, the crowd applauded and Elise was whisked away to her next event.

This time there was no break in between. Elsa and a column of guards led Elise directly from the church to the castle and out onto a balcony that overlooked the courtyard, which was already overflowing with people. People, Elise had reminded herself, who had chosen to battle the nipping cold, just to catch a glimpse of their new princess. For the second time, Elise's appearance was met with awe from the crowd, but this time instead of just blushing, Elise decided to smile and wave down to her people. The crowd loved it. Elsa gave her speech in which she introduced Elise to the public, said a few words about how the kingdom was improving, and asked God to watch over her people during the harsh winter months to come. It was short and to the point, but still filled with the compassion and caring that Elsa had for her people. A typical Elsa move, Elise had thought. And then they were off again to the next and final event of the day.

Now the hard part was to begin. The small crowd of nobles, officials, and merchants that occupied the ballroom applauded and bowed as the queen and princesses of Arendelle entered the room. When they finished, the murmur of conversations filled the room once again and Elise took a deep breath.

"You'll be fine," Elsa said and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Elise hadn't even realized they were holding hands.

"That's easy for you to say," Elise murmured back. The first contender was already approaching them.

"Not as much as you think."

A flash of red to Elise's right caught her attention. It was Anna making a beeline for the food table. That was one sister gone. "Promise you'll stay by my side," Elise pleaded.

"I'll try, but I might get stolen away. Remember what we talked about. Some of these nobleman are ambitious. They'll desperately try to court you, since they've long since stopped trying to court me one-on-one. They think I'm too cold, both literally and figuratively. Shoot them down, but try to do it politely please."

Before Elise could respond, the man that had been approaching them arrived within earshot. Thankfully, he only desired to speak with her majesty, but Elise's relief went right out the window when he then asked to speak to her alone. Elise could already see the young men and nobles swarming in on her as she and the queen were separated. It was a textbook divide and conquer strategy. But Elise was going to prove that she wasn't so conquerable.

* * *

Whatever surge of confidence Elise felt in the moments she saw the first man approach disappeared in the moment he introduced himself to her. It was almost a full minute before she willed herself to respond and all she managed was a meek, "Uhm, hi." The rest of the conversation was equally awkward. She kept her answers short to avoid further embarrassment and the conversation quickly dwindled away. No sooner had the first man excused himself, did another one approach. This man too excused himself from the awkward situation, but more kept coming.

Eventually, Elise got into the hang of things, though it made it no easier for those trying to converse with the crown princess. As soon as Elise figured out how to make these people leave faster without being upfront rude or stupidly awkward, she used it to her advantage. She made a point to be as cold and aloof as possible in her conversations without going over the line. She answered quickly, short, to the point, and made no effort to keep the conversation continuing. Her attempts at showing interest in those speaking to her were barely half-hearted. However, none of this deterred the stream of people, both men and woman, trying to speak with her, though Elise did notice the number of attempts to court her drop considerably. Some of the people were just introducing themselves and making themselves known to the crown princess, not that Elise remembered them as she'd lost track of the names after the first few. Others, usually young bachelors of noble or merchant families, were actually trying to court her after their family members had put in a good word for them. The rest were the ambitious people Elsa had spoken of, government officials and some merchants, who were trying to win her favor. None were succeeding.

It felt like an eternity before Elise found herself with an opportunity to meet up with Elsa. Without hesitating, she made her way to where Elsa stood in conversation across the room. She had kept track of her location since she'd left, never letting Elsa out of her sight. They had both made attempts to meet up since, however each one was thwarted every time. Somehow Elise suspected the nobles were purposely trying to keep them separated.

"Excuse me, your highness?" came an accented voice from behind her.

Elise sighed in defeat, she was thwarted once again. Upon turning around though, she was surprised to see the man...no, the men, standing before her were not the people she had suspected. While pretending to listen to everyone speak to her, Elise had been scouting around the ballroom to scope out potential conversationalists, she had also pinned a select few individuals that for whatever reason, showed no signs of trying to fight their way to get to her. A few Elise recognized as councilmen that she was already familiar with. The rest, like these three men, she didn't recognize at all.

"Yes, can I help you?" she asked. She would have to proceed with caution, she may have been beginning to understand the motives of everyone who she had met and conversed with, but these three men appeared to be operating under a different set of tactics. They were not natives either, as the one who has spoken to her had an accent that marked him as a foreigner at once and so had the non-Arendelle military uniforms they wore.

"Your highness, do you have a minute to spare?" one of the men asked with a bow. It was a genuine question, not rhetorical like all the others who asked. This man and his party looked prepared to hear Elise answer 'no'.

"I do. May I ask who you are though?"

"Oh, yes, do forgive us. I am, Lieutenant Jacobs, but I am merely just the translator, it's Captain Hill who wishes to speak with you, your highness." The Lieutenant indicated to the older man in the middle of the group who then spoke something in English and bowed again. "Greetings, Princess Elise, I am Captain Samuel Hill, former captain of the _USS Missouri_. But you can just call me Sam, your highness," the junior officer translated.

"Oh, well, nice to meet you, Capt-Sam. Are you enjoying the party?" The _USS Missouri_. That brought back bad memories. _I wonder how he took the news that Anna was responsible. Hopefully, he isn't too upset at her. Or the rest of us. Best to be as nice as possible._

"Too much politics for me, your majesty. Our friends, the ambassador and congressman, seem to be enjoying the party at least," the captain nodded as the officer translated to two other men that Elise had grouped in the same category as these men during her observations earlier. They were in the middle of a discussion with a group of merchantmen that Elise had already talked too. "That was a lovely ceremony by the way."

"Oh, you were there?"

"Yes, we were invited as guests of the Queen, seeing as we were already staying at the castle."

"Oh, I...will it be long before a ship arrives to take you and your men home?"

"It will be a week or two before a ship arrives, your highness, but do not fret, we our enjoying ourselves."

"Well, that's good. Now if you'll excuse me—"

"I don't want to take more of your time than is necessary, your highness," the Captain himself suddenly interrupted in broken Norwegian. While the junior officer's Norwegian was decent, the Captain's was terrible, but understandable. "I just wanted to let you know that what you did was very courageous. Please understand that I am not upset by the causes of that fire, but I am thankful that nobody was killed and that was because of you. You are a very brave woman and you should be proud of yourself."

Elise flushed. "Oh, thanks...thank you. That means a lot, really."

The officer translated then continued in Norwegian "You'll have to excuse the Captain's Norwegian. He only had a week to practice that."

Elise allowed herself to chuckle. "Well, tell him it wasn't too bad."

"If you excuse us, your highness, we'll let you go on your way. Best of luck to you, Princess Elise," They group bowed again and turned to go.

_Well, that was different. A good different._

Unfortunately, Elise had lost her window, people were already moving in on her again.

Just when she was about to lose hope, a miracle happened. Right as a new guest had stepped up, whoever he was, and was about to open his mouth, a feminine hand grabbed her by the arm.

"Sorry buddy, but I have to borrow my sister." Elise had never been any happier to hear Anna's voice.

Before anybody had a chance to interject, Anna dragged Elise away and towards...Elsa. _Thank God._

* * *

"Well?" Captain Hill asked as the trio watched Princess Anna drag Princess Elise away from another suitor.

"The Princess is…interesting I'll give you that," Lieutenant Jacobs answered.

"A little awkward, huh?"

"Yes, she doesn't seem to be familiar with social settings," the Lieutenant observed.

"Do you think the rumors are true?" Captain Hill kept his voice low, to prevent curious ears from listening in.

"I'm not sure how anyone could survive isolated at the North Pole…then again I don't know how magic works either. Possibly, she had to come from somewhere."

"She doesn't seem violent. She seems good-natured like her sister," Sergeant Connors pointed out.

Lieutenant Jacobs nodded. "Yes, I'm not sure if the rumors that the princess tried subverting the throne are true either."

The captain was not convinced. "The physical evidence seems to disagree."

"True, but look how they interact with one another. Why would Queen Elsa be so friendly after something like that?"

"Not to mention, Princess Anna and the Queen are very protective of each other. I can't imagine either of them forgiving something like that so easily," Sergeant Connors added.

"True, true," Captain Hill agreed. "Both good points and she did save the Queen from the fire. However, I should point out, she did it by breaking out of a prison cell. And keeping her isolated from the rest of Arendelle afterward for two weeks? Something's definitely going on."

"We've gone over this before, Captain, we can't make assumptions based on rumors. We don't know what happened before that fire, hell we don't even know how long Princess Elise has been here. For all we know, Princess Elise has been locked away in the castle whole time. We might never know. The only thing we know for sure is that there are many secrets in this kingdom."

"That we can agree on, Lieutenant." Captain Hill scanned the room while taking advantage of the lull in conversation to finish his drink. Nothing but nobility and politicians here. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He heard, or at least his Norwegian-speaking Lieutenant had heard the whispers and rumors spreading among the nobles throughout the day. According to them, more and more merchants and businessmen were gaining influence in the royal court. Captain Hill smiled to himself. The age of nobility was coming to an end. Good, let them eat cake.

"I like her though," Captain Hill spoke up. "She's not like the rest of them. She's different, just like her sisters. They're all different."

"Yes, but you don't seem convinced she isn't violent," Lieutenant Jacobs pointed out.

"Yes, but people do change. Perhaps she was violent. Perhaps her sisters fixed that. Could've explained what was going on over the past two weeks. Well, anyway, this meeting was quite informative, I'm glad we got to see her. I don't see her being a threat to the delegation either. However…"

"What is it, sir?"

"I'm not sure…call it a gut feeling if you will, but I feel like we're not done dealing with the royal family of Arendelle, not yet at least."

"Maybe you're right. Magic really throws off the balance of things. Who knows what could happen. Look what's happened already."

"Very true. Well, enough business, we got what we wanted. Come on boys, let's go enjoy ourselves."

As the trio made their way to the drink table, Lieutenant Jacobs glanced back at the royal sisters. He watched with curiosity as Elsa and Elise interacted. Something about the way they interacted struck him as odd, but he couldn't quite place it. Before he could come to a conclusion, Sergeant Connors grabbed his arm.

"Come on LT, stop ogling, at least you got to manhandle the princess. Now come on, the drinks aren't going to come to us."

Jacobs let his observation go unfinished. He would make a note of it later tonight in his report. It was probably unimportant anyway.

* * *

Elsa was in the middle of a conversation with Admiral Hoffman when Elise and Anna arrived.

"Special deliver for her majesty, one identical twin," Anna announced.

"Good job, Anna," Elsa remarked. "Thank you, Anved, your job is done."

"It was my honor, your majesty." The admiral bowed and turned to go. "Oh, and congratulations, Princess Elise," he added as he left.

Elise raised her eyebrow at Elsa. "What was that about?"

"I needed to look preoccupied to keep these people off of me so I had Anna go get you in the meantime. How are things going?"

"Nice plan, but things are going terrible. It's awful out there, Elsa, it's just an endless stream of people and they're all trying to get something out of me. I don't how anyone's enjoying themselves, it's like it's all about business with these people. I wished they'd leave me alone already."

"Be happy this place isn't crawling with foreign dignitaries as well. Everyone always wants something out of you when you hold as much power as we do. Trust me, I know. Speaking of which, what did those Americans you were just talking to want?"

"Oh, them? Nothing actually. He just wanted to thank me for my bravery, I guess."

"Hmmm, interesting. I do believe one of them personally pulled Anna out of that fire." Anna nodded in confirmation.

"Oh really? Well, they seemed nice. They were different from the rest of them. Those men actually seemed like they cared about me, everyone else just cares about themselves."

"That's how the world works, Elise."

"Yeah, I know."

"Well, in any case, you seem to be catching on to how the game is played, that's good." A small moment of silence followed before Elsa spoke again. "Say, Anna, why don't you go spend some time with Kristoff, he looks lonely over there." Elsa nodded towards the ice harvester standing awkwardly alone by himself.

"Oh, poor him, I better go save him," Anna said as she trotted off.

When Anna was a safe distance away, Elsa moved in closer to Elise and lowered her voice. "You look absolutely stunning."

"Thanks, Gerda certainly did a good job with me." Elise blushed as Elsa gently fixed some loose hairs that had escaped from the headband she wore. From the perspective of a casual onlooker, there was nothing intimate about what Elsa was doing, but to Elise, well, that was a different story. The light touches where Elsa's hand would accidentally brush up against Elise's face were intimate enough for her. The headband she wore, more fancy for an occasion like this, had been a gift from Elsa to celebrate her baptism. "I never did get a chance to thank you for the headband. It's beautiful."

"I know you don't like keeping your hair down, so I thought if you had something special like this, it would help ease your pain."

"Elsa, you're so thoughtful. I love you." Elise kept her voice low.

"I'm just sorry it took so long for us to get a chance to talk."

"Well, it has been a long day hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has. You know there's a private parlor we can retire to, at least for a little bit, to rest before jumping back into things."

"That sounds wonderful, I haven't sat down in hours."

"The room is also stocked with all the necessary supplies needed to freshen up before we return to the party. Including all the makeup we need," Elsa hinted.

"Oh, I didn't think we looked that bad."

"No, but we will."

"Huh?" Elise was confused until Elsa leaned up close to her ear with a sly grin on her face and whispered.

"You want to go make out?"

Elise's day was already looking brighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks beta readers.
> 
> To my Guest Reviewers (from ff.net):
> 
> Guest: "Hello, thanks for writing it's great!
> 
> You better be planning on writing more though. :D"
> 
> Guest: "Please update! :)"
> 
> Thanks for the reviews both of you. I have no intention of not completely this fic. The only thing is, with classes starting again my updates may come out slower. However, I'll try my best to keep it going over two weeks between updates.
> 
> Expanding on that point, I apologize for the delay of this chapter. I'm not getting bogged down by classes yet, it's just that I forgot to upload it the other day.


	15. Secrets

"Come on, Elise, we're almost there!" Anna yelled behind her shoulder as she raced ahead.

"Slow down, Anna," Elise pleaded as she struggled to keep up with her younger sister who was leading her through the unfamiliar streets of Arendelle at an alarming speed. She tried to focus on Anna while she changed her shoes into something more suitable for running. Elsa had warned her to be prepared to remodel her footwear throughout the day.

Suddenly, Anna came to a complete stop. "There it is, we're here."

Elise took the moment to catch her breath as she stepped up next to Anna. They were standing in front of a bakery. The smell that radiated from the building was heavenly. "Was it really necessary to run here?"

Anna dragged Elise forward and into the store. "Oh, of course, we had to get here at this exact time. That's when they bring out the sweet rolls fresh from the ovens. We'll just grab a few and get back on our way."

It was only the day after her Christening ceremony and already, Elsa had to catch up on missed work. Instead of accepting Elise's offer to help, Elsa implored that she got out into town with Anna. Anna was more than thrilled to take her out for a tour of Arendelle and Elise was curious herself to get out on the streets and get a feel of the place she now lived in.

Their day started off first thing in the morning—Anna wanted the most amount of time possible. Clearly though, Anna was not operating under any kind of itinerary or order. Elise was led all across town, sometimes going in complete circles, as Anna only came up with the next step of their adventure on the spot. Regardless of their erratic routes, Elise never lost her bearing and was successfully creating a mental map of the city.

It had also been an informative experience to observe the people of Arendelle go about their business. This was the real lifestyle of her...Elsa's subjects, nothing like the pampered lifestyles of royalty, nobles, and the officials who worked for them. This was how the average person lived and this was the first time she got to see it firsthand. Sure, Elise had spent the first few years of her childhood as a commoner like them, but that was in a far-off, isolated village and Elise was only a young child. This was the real thing. Elise had watched the men and woman work, walk, shop, talk, and go about their lives with great interest and curiosity. She had become so engrossed in her observations that at times she even found herself tuning out Anna's commentary, which was stuffed with every little detail Anna knew about the subject at hand. Anna's tour combined with Elise's observations was very much an information overload.

So when Anna took off running towards the marketplace, Elise was a little relieved.

"Let's go find a bench to take a seat, my feet are killing me," Anna said in-between bites of her sweet roll as they walked out of the shop. She glanced down at Elise's ice shoes. "You and Elsa are so lucky. I wish I could change my shoes like that."

Without warning, a small child darted through the crowd and stopped directly in front of the princesses. Out of the corner of her eye, Elise spotted their escorts move in until they backed down upon realizing that there was no threat. Elise and Anna had departed that morning with an armed escort of royal guards. However, they had kept a noticeable distance and Elise had forgotten they were even there. In fact, Kristoff and Olaf were actually supposed to accompany them as well, however, those plans were changed last minute much to her relief. Kristoff was fine, but Olaf was...annoying. They would meet up with them later for dinner out on the town instead.

The child, a little girl, curtsied quickly and nervously. In her hand was a bouquet of purple flowers.

"Well, hello there young lady," Anna greeted with a smile. "What's your name?"

"M-my name i-is Iris, your highness," the little girl stuttered out.

"Aw, don't be shy, little Iris."

The little girl smiled and thrust the flowers towards Anna. "These are for you, Princess Anna."

"Why thank you, Iris. They're beautiful, I love autumn crocuses." Anna took the flowers and the little girl seemed to brighten.

"You're very pretty. I wish I could be a pretty princess like you one day."

Anna leaned down and patted the girl on the head. "Oh no, you're already the prettiest princess to me. Right, Elise?" Anna glanced towards Elise and winked. Iris glanced cautiously at Elise, her smile faltering.

Elise smiled and waved to the child. "Of course."

"Why is your hair black, Princess Elise? I thought you were twins, but Queen Elsa's hair isn't black."

Elise tried to think up what to say. She had no idea why she had black hair while her identical twin had blonde. Both Anna and the child were waiting for an answer. _Why is this kid trying to talk to me?_ "Well, you see I'm not really-"

"Is it because you are evil?" the girl interrupted suddenly.

"What?!" Anna and Elise both burst out.

Elise was horrified, but Anna's smile hadn't faltered. "Okay, I think that's enough, run along now, little Iris and thank you for the flowers."

The little girl bowed and quickly scurried away, oblivious to the weight of her words. Anna continued walking towards the benches like nothing had happened.

"Sorry about that," Anna whispered to Elise when the little girl was a safe distance away.

"No, it's alright."

"No, it's not alright. That was uncalled for."

"She didn't know any better. Maybe she was on to something anyway."

"Don't talk like that, Elise," Anna demanded as she took a seat.

Elise continued to stand over her, not ready to drop the subject. This was something that plagued Elise before and she hated how the unanswered questions festered in her mind. She had yet to express her concerns with Elsa or anyone for that matter until this little girl brought it up and reignited the debate Elise's mind. "Why else would we be like this, Anna? Elsa is the light, the good and I'm the dark, the bad. It would certainly explain some of the things I've done."

"Elise, stop we're not going to have this conversation right now. I know for a fact that you are my sister and are not evil and that's final, end of discussion. Now sit done and join me."

Elise huffed and plopped down next to Anna. She didn't want to drop the subject quite yet, but realized this wasn't the best time or place to actually discuss it. So instead of arguing with Anna's point, she chose to sit in silence and watch the people go about their business.

"You're very good with people," Elise commented after a few minutes passed. It was true, all day Elise had observed Anna interact with people. She was always smiling and kind to everyone she came across. Most people returned her kindness with genuine kindness of their own. She never shied away from engaging someone and treated everyone as her equal. Everywhere they went, the sisters were the center of attention and Elise quickly noticed that while they looked at her with curiosity, wonderment, and uncertainty, they looked at Anna with joy and admiration. The people loved her and she loved the people. "These people love you."

"Aww, Elise that's so kind of you."

"You're definitely their favorite though."

Anna rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face told Elise she was just being playful. "Oh, Elise I bet you'll be the favorite soon."

"Doubt it." Elise seriously doubted that. She left all the talking to Anna and preferred in the future to leave all the talking to Anna. She didn't have the patience for it.

"Oh, you." Anna giggled and playfully shoved Elise. Elise couldn't help but go along with it and playfully shoved back. _Once you got used to her, Anna really is fun to be around. No wonder why Elsa loves her so much._ She definitely enjoyed Anna's company and was becoming attached to the younger sister. She was cute too, Elise had to admit. Not on Elsa's level of cute, but the freckled, strawberry blonde definitely gave both Elsa and Elise a run for their money. Elsa would be proud that Elise was fast becoming best friends with Anna now that their differences had been settled and they were spending quality time together.

After their fit of giggling subsided, silence followed and Elise noticed a change in Anna. It was subtle, but appeared that something of concern had gained the attention of her thoughts. She had also stopped eating the rest of her sweet roll. Elise was about to ask if something was wrong, but Anna beat her to it.

"So, Elsa's doing a lot better," Anna exclaimed rather suddenly.

"Better?" Elise wasn't really sure what Anna meant by better.

"Well, I mean, she's been such a mess recently. She has so much going on and so much to worry about. So much responsibility. I don't how she handles it. And then...well, you show up—no offense—and I thought it was just going to be too much for her to handle. But she held up and I've noticed she's doing a lot better. She's a lot happier now."

"Well, that's good. I'm glad things are getting better," Elise remarked. "I'm sorry I caused any problems," she added sarcastically.

"Oh no, you're the reason she's improving. I know that for a fact. Ever since you two came home, Elsa's been a lot better. You're the missing piece to her puzzle."

Elise felt a lump forming in the pit of her stomach. "Well, she definitely needed some time off. I'm hoping I can help out in the future to help lessen her workload. That way she can spend more time with her family."

"That'd be great. The more time the better." Anna paused for a moment. "You two are spending a lot of time together since you've came back." Elise felt like her stomach dropped out from under her. "It's good to see she's connecting with someone other than me," Anna added, but it felt to Elise like it was only added as an afterthought.

_Does she know?_

Elise and Anna were now staring at each. Elise remained silent, waiting for Anna to continue. Waiting for some kind of evidence that she knew. Maybe she didn't know though. But maybe she needed to know. She had a right to know. Elise considered telling her right there and then. However, a quick mental reminder that they were in public convinced Elise that this wasn't the time or place. Anna deserved to know, but not now.

"So, about this orphanage you've been dying to take me to?" Elise asked to change the topic. They were both finished what remained of their sweet rolls by now.

Anna's mood seemed to change with the topic. She popped up and took Elise by the hand.

"Come on, the day's still young."

* * *

Later that night, Elsa sat behind her desk finishing the last workload of the day. There was just a few more letters to go over and not only would she be caught up, but would have far less work to do tomorrow.

A knock on the door caught Elsa's attention, but before she could ask who it was the door opened and Anna appeared. She had barely opened the door enough to slip inside and quickly closed it as soon as she was through.

"Oh, hello, Anna."

"Hi, Elsa."

"Did you have a good day? I heard you did a number on Elise. She was so worn out that she retired to bed early."

"Yeah, I had a lot of fun today. I ran her all over town," Anna answered as she approached Elsa's desk.

 _Cautiously_ approaching her desk, Elsa observed. _Oh no, what happened? Elise said they were getting along._

"So, uh, what are you working on, Elsa?"

Elsa eyed her suspiciously. "Just working on these marriage proposals. I'm almost finished actually."

"Oh, more came in?" Anna asked, trying to act interested. Elsa could see past the charade though.

"Yes, but these aren't for me. They're for Elise."

"Speaking of Elise," Anna started. Elsa's grip on her pen tightened and she swallowed. "I've noticed she has a problem with her hair."

"Her hair?" Elsa was relieved.

"She seems to have this idea that because her hair is dark and yours is light, that she's bad."

"What? That's ridicules."

"Yeah, that's what I said, but she wasn't convinced."

"Well, maybe I'll have a talk with her. If that doesn't work, maybe you can take her to the trolls and have them reassure her." _On second thought, they might say it's true. Stupid trolls._

"Sounds like a plan."

Elsa returned to the paper in front of her, determined to finish her work. It didn't take long for Elsa to realize that Anna hadn't continued or moved from her spot. When Elsa looked up again, Anna was looking down at her with a determined look on her face.

"Anna, what's wrong?"

"You know, not too long ago I realized something," Anna started, ignoring Elsa's question. Both her face and voice betrayed no emotion. "I realized that you were in love. I was thrilled. I wanted to do anything to help you be happy. I was determined to find out who the special person was and do anything possible to make sure you ended up with them. Do you know what happened next, Elsa?"

Elsa's hand constricted around the pen she was holding as her whole body tensed up. She redirected her eyes to the desk in front of her, refusing to look up at Anna. Refusing to show Anna how wide her eyes had snapped open. "Wh-what's that, A-Anna?" Elsa had no idea how she managed to speak, she felt like she was suffocating.

Anna's voice dropped down to a whisper. "One day you came home and everything was different. You weren't looking for love anymore. You had already found it. I was happy for you, but also quite puzzled. But I had time to think about it and now I know what's going on."

Elsa could feel the ice threatening to leak through her hands. She dropped the pen and wrapped her arms around her body. "Anna, I don't know what–"

She was cut off when Anna violently grabbed the desk in front of her, startling her and causing her to remain silent.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Anna pleaded, her voice no longer a whisper.

Elsa tried one more time to deny it, though didn't see the point of trying. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me, Elsa!" Anna yelled and slammed her hands on the desk, startling her once again. Tears were already starting to fall down her face as she squeezed herself tighter. She desperately wished she could just be whisked away. "What do you have to say for yourself, Elsa?"

"Okay, it's true, Elise and I are in love," Elsa admitted and she finally looked up. Anna was gazing at her and Elsa was very surprised to find Anna beginning to smile.

"That's all I wanted to hear." Anna leaned off the table and continued to smile down at Elsa. It was neither condescending nor sly, just a sweet, loving Anna-type smile.

Elsa wasn't sure what was going on. She wiped at the moisture still on her cheeks and eyes. "W-what? Don't you hate me now? Aren't you disgusted?"

"Well, as I said, I had time to think about it and..."

"And what, Anna? And what?"

"And as long as you're happy, I'm happy. Besides I couldn't hate you, ever."

Elsa popped up out of her chair. "But this is incest. That doesn't sicken you at all?"

"Well, at first it did, but then I realized you two didn't even grow up together, so it wasn't really that big of a deal. It's not like me and you because that would be weird and gross. You and Elise though, you didn't even know you were sisters until two weeks ago. Besides, it's not like you can make babies or anything, you're both girls." Anna blushed and rubbed the back of her head.

Elsa eyed Anna suspiciously. She knew she was going to do this eventually and that Elise had sworn that Anna was going to be supportive, but still Elsa couldn't believe it. "Yes, both girls. And that doesn't bother you either?"

"Wellll," Anna said, looking up and away from Elsa, "I kind of guessed you were sapphic, Elsa. You were never really interested in boys like me and I remember when we were younger you were always eying up that one temporary handmaiden. What was her name again? Hel-something, Helga maybe?"

"Helene," Elsa corrected. She felt her heart ache that this particular secret hadn't been so secret. _Oh God, if Anna knew, who else did? Did mother and father know too?_  
  
"Right, Helene. Anyway, I figured you were into girls. I accepted that even before the coronation." Anna could seemingly read the concern on Elsa's face. "Oh, don't worry I don't think anyone else noticed. I used to be obsessed with you at that age, so of course I noticed. I would watch you like a hawk whenever you were outside your room. I always did wonder why you stopped obsessing over that girl though."

"I'd...rather not talk about that right now."

"Okay, that's fine."

"Oh, this is wonderful, Anna, I 'm so happy that you're okay with this." Elsa scurried around the desk, intending to scoop Anna into the biggest hug ever.

So it came as quite a shock when Anna held out her hand and took a step back. "Wait, I didn't say that yet." Anna's words stopped Elsa in her tracks.

"Wait, what? But I thought..." Elsa felt herself losing control again as her heart shattered.

"Elsa, have you not looked at her recently?"

Elsa tried laughing at the question. It came out forced. "Yes, I have and she's quite beautiful."

"Have you looked at _yourself_ recently, Elsa?"

"Anna, I don't understand where you're going and it's upsetting me," Elsa pleaded. She felt tears pooling in her eyes again.

"How are you this blind? You're in love with somebody that looks exactly like yourself. You're practically in love with yourself, that's how it looks like to me. I mean Elsa I knew you were...what's the word I'm looking for? Weird? Different? Definitely a lot of both, but this is just...I mean, Christ, Elsa, you have to look at this from my angle. You're basically a narcissist, that's the only explanation I could come up with. You're supposed to be my role model, I'm supposed to look up to you. How do you think this makes me feel, finding out that the person that meant the world to me fell in love with herself? I just wasn't expecting this from you. You're supposed to be perfect, even with magical powers and being in love with your sister, you're perfect to me. But being a narcissist...I just...I..."

Elsa stared wide-eyed at Anna until she could take no more. Elsa backed herself into the wall, slid down to the floor, and proceeded to sob into her hands. Never once had this crossed her mind. She just thought Elise was beautiful and that was that. Was what Anna saying true? Was she really a narcissist? Elsa didn't even know Anna knew that word. But she loved Elise for being Elise. Not for looking like Elsa's self. No, Elsa was not a narcissist, maybe Anna was just afraid that Elsa was or was misinterpreting this. But if Anna thought differently it didn't make a difference what Elsa thought to herself. Elsa only cared about what Anna thought, she only ever did.

In her fit of crying, Elsa was unaware that Anna had ended her tirade and was now standing over her. The sigh coming from above prompted Elsa to glance up.

"Oh Elsa, you're my sister and if I can overlook the ice sorceress, anti-social shut-in, and incestuous sapphism part, what's wrong with adding narcissistic to the list? I love you and always will because you're my sister and my best friend. The same applies to Elise. I'll just have to learn to accept what makes you, and her, unique and keep on accepting it when new things pop up n matter what."

Elsa couldn't have jumped up and grabbed Anna faster. "Oh Anna, Thank you! This means so much to me you have no idea!"

"Okay, okay." When Anna pushed Elsa away, she was again briefly overcome with dread until Anna spoke. "Promise me this okay? Please don't have dirty thoughts between us. You get to see me naked a lot and I don't want to feel like my sister is imaging eating me out or something."

Elsa giggled. "Don't worry, that will not be an issue. I promise."

"Then come here and give me a hug," Anna said as she pulled Elsa back into an embrace.

"I swear I'm not a narcissist, Anna. I just...I can't explain it. I just love her."

"If you say you're not one, then I'll believe you. "

"Thanks, Anna."

"No problem, sis."

"You know, you can't tell anyone about this. Not even Olaf or Sven."

"I know. Wait, what about Kristoff?"

"Hmmm, maybe, but not now though. Do you really think I'm weird?"

"Yeah, you really are."

"So are you though," Elsa retorted.

"True, but nothing compared to you."

"I am not an anti-social shut-in," Elsa continued.

"Yes, you are."

"Alright, fine. I can't argue the other points though."

"But, you're my anti-social shut-in, Elsa. That's what's different"

Elsa continued holding Anna as they stood there in silence. Despite the tears she shed, Elsa was now both content and happy.

"Hey, Anna?"

"Hmm?"

"You don't mind if Elise and I, you know...act like a couple around you, do you? We don't actually get much time to do so and this way we don't have to pretend around you."

It was a moment before Anna answered and Elsa could feel her hesitation. No matter what she'd say, Elsa knew Anna still wasn't going to be completely comfortable with it. "I would never deny your happiness, Elsa. Do what you need to do. I'll get used to it." Elsa was relieved. She should have never doubted Anna. "And hey, if I don't puke on the first time I see you two kiss, I might be fine," she jokingly added.

"I love you, Anna."

"I know. I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks to my beta readers.
> 
> Narcissist is not a term people would be throwing around during the real 1840s. The idea or concept of narcissism in the way that Anna used it didn't come around until Sigmund Freud wrote about it in the 20th century. However, I really didn't think egomaniac or egotist would have worked as a good substitute in the case of Elsa being in love with her own body. Since I have already decided to use psychological terms that have yet to be invented – terms such as introspection and introvert for example – I decided to include it anyway.
> 
> >but muh immersion
> 
> Do not forget that Frozen may be set in the 1840s, but Disney-verse 1840's =/= real life 1840's. There are similarities and there a differences. Mostly differences it seems. I try to keep as many similarities as possible especially in the realm of politics, diplomacy, and military. However, I am merely an amateur and thus cannot catch everything. Also I have other things going on and don't have time to do that much in-depth research. I know I'm already doing this for free, but I'm not going to go full Tom Clancy-tier researching for free. What do you think I am, some kind of janitor on 4chan or something? >he does it for free.
> 
> And I do take certain liberties which I've talked about before, as does Disney. Disney has a knack for including modern concepts in movies set in the past. It's part of the process of making movies for kids. Also the reason Anna wasn't already married off and why Elsa was coronated at age 21 (protip: it was so Anna was 18 – the age of consent in the United States – during the events of the film; the age of underage princesses is over)
> 
> My point is, Blizzards in Arendelle is still set in a more matured Disney-verse whose political map is more similar to the real world than canon.
> 
> To my Guest Reviewers (from ff.net):
> 
> Guest: "Please update ASAP!"
> 
> Guest: "Omg this is amazing ! Keep going 3"
> 
> Okay thanks and will do.
> 
> Changed cover image. This is by tauwnycat on Deviantart. Go there to see the full image.   
> http://tauwnycat.deviantart.com/art/two-different-Elza-449160566


	16. Proposal

Three weeks had passed since Elsa and Elise started their relationship. To Elsa, it felt like only yesterday it was just her and Anna, but at the same time, she felt like she'd known Elise for an eternity. Everything was going well. Their relationship was going smoothly and the awkward moments in front of Anna had passed. Their little sister never did puke the first time Elise and Elise kissed in front of her nor did she show any signs of being grossed out. Their relationship was not without pains though. Trying to keep their secret hidden proved difficult with their pampered lifestyle even with Anna in on it. It made Elsa thankful they operated with a limited staff in the royal family apartments, but she feared her head maid, Gerda, would learn what was going on if she didn't already know. Elsa and Elise spent too many nights together, almost all of them, and had too many close calls with her handmaidens. The one thing Elsa didn't have to worry about though, was if Gerda knew or found out and accepted them, she'd make sure word would never get out through the staff. Gerda had successfully protected Elsa's last secret in the past, there was no reason she couldn't now. The same with Kai, if he were to ever find out and accept them.

Elise was laying in Elsa's bed reading a book by the lamplight. Ever since she settled down in Arendelle, she never stopped reading, she'd told Elsa she had years of reading to catch up on. Elsa herself was laying on the bed in a rather peculiar position with her head by Elise's torso. Her hand ghosted over Elise's midriff and waist moving back and forth. The soft blue glow of magic coming from Elsa's palm only added to the oddity of the scene.

At one point about a week ago, Elsa and Anna had realized Elise had been in Arendelle for over a month and had yet to go through her menstrual cycle. When confronted, Elise had no idea that such a thing even existed. That was a major cause for concern, so Elsa had brought Elise to the royal physician right away. He deduced that the only explanation was that Elise was infertile. Elsa took the news harder than Elise though, she didn't seem to care. Elsa could see the point, neither of them planned to have children in a relationship such as theirs anyway. But to Elsa, who knew how her society worked, fertility was a sign of femininity and the infertile woman were looked down on. Elsa didn't want that hanging over Elise's head if word ever got out.

However, when the physician pointed out that Elise's womb was several degrees colder than the rest of her body, Elsa became suspicious. Elise disregarded the observation with a snide remark about how she was an ice sorceress and she could be any temperature she wanted. She was obviously not happy over having the physician probing her private parts and was started taking it out on other people. Elise even snapped at Elsa afterward when she expressed her condolences to Elise's condition.

Since the visit, Elsa had come up with a theory. Elise must have had a shard of ice embedded in her womb, it was the only explanation for her infertility and temperature change. Elise must have accidentally shot herself at some point before her teenage years. Elsa was now dead set on finding and removing that shard whether Elise wanted her to or not. Elsa thought she was doing Elise a favor.

The first time Elsa tried proving her theory and removing the shard, Elise took it as a sign of Elsa trying to initiate sex, much to Elsa's embarrassment. Afterward Elise looked at her like a madwoman and tried denying having any accidents when Elsa tried explaining her theory, but nonetheless allowed her to continue. The first time was incredibly awkward. Of course, Elsa hadn't found anything the first time, but she was convinced that the shard was the size of a grain of sand if not smaller and was determined to find it and thus Elsa continued this practice on and off ever since.

Elsa's almost-nightly search had become a sort of ritual for them. The act of using her magic to look for such a small piece of ice was almost therapeutic. It was a calming exercise after a long day of work. Even Elise admitted she enjoyed the sensation of Elsa's magic during the 'search' of her body. At about fifteen minutes a session, Elsa was also learning how to home in her powers. By now she theorized that the shard was smaller than a grain of sand. Unfortunately, she couldn't detect a shard of ice smaller than a grain of sand period. However, each night she was getting better.

The body under Elsa's hand suddenly tensed up. Sometimes, Elise would describe a ticklish sensation when Elsa searched a particular spot within Elise's body. She must have just done so again. Without warning, Elise's night gown was pulled up to her chest, exposing the bare, but beautiful, skin of her midriff. Elsa flushed deep red as she found herself staring face to face with Elise's uncovered cunt. She swiftly turned her head the other direction and glared at Elise whose face was plastered with a mischievous smirk.

Elsa rolled her eyes and iced the hand she had hovering over Elise's now bare stomach. She was convinced Elise was only into this because it got Elsa near her nether regions. Elsa slapped her hand down onto Elise's skin, causing her to yelp. She crawled back over to her spot, there was no point in continuing.

"That was rude," she said pointedly and continued to glare at Elise.

"What, wasn't I making it easier?" Elise snickered.

"I was trying to relax. You know this calms me down and I can't stay calm with _that_ staring back at me. Now make yourself decent please," Elsa commanded.

Elise rolled her eyes, but still obliged to Elsa's request.

Elsa wasn't content. "Oh, come on, don't you know how long my day was?"

"Sorry, sorry, I know...every day is long though, even with me helping," Elise observed, her tone becoming somber.

"You do help out a lot, Elise," Elsa affirmed, recalling all the times she had helped out with the mountains of paperwork she had went through every day and more importantly how she handled herself during the times she accompanied her during council meetings. "It's just that some things you can't do. You don't have the same power as me. There's only so much you can do."

Elise's smirk disappeared. "I wish we could change that."

"Yeah, me too."

Elise shot up in bed without warning. "Well, why can't we? You're the Queen," she exclaimed.

Elsa closed her eyes out and rubbed her temples. Elsa had these conversations with Elise and Anna almost constantly. "We went over this, there are laws that even I have to follow."

"You know, Els, I've been thinking about that," Elise bluntly stated. "I've been reading up on these laws."

_Oh boy, here we go again. What's she onto this time?_

"What scheme have you come up with this time?" Elsa insinuated, getting the impression Elise was about to suggest something ridicules, she almost rolled her eyes this time, but didn't.

"Why don't we just go with the simplest option, the one we keep overlooking?"

"Which is...?"

"Marriage," Elise answered quickly.

Elsa burst out laughing. "Good one, Elsy, I'm sure that will work out well."

Elise grabbed her pillow and playfully smacked Elsa with it. "Well, why not?" she questioned.

Elsa stopped laughing when she noticed the stern look on Elise's face. She rolled her eyes and held up her hand. "Well, one we're both woman," Elsa started by counting off her fingers. "Two, we're sisters. Three, sisters aren't allowed to love her each other like that. Four..."

"Who said this marriage has to be about love?" Elise cut off with a smirk on her face. Elsa arched her eyebrow and lowered her hand, Elise took this a cue to continue. "Almost all marriages amongst royalty are political. This would just be another political marriage."

"A political marriage between sisters," Elsa reminded her while propping her head up with her forearm to properly continue the conversation with her still sitting up twin.

"A political marriage so that the twins of Arendelle can consolidate their power, keep foreign powers out of the line of succession, and increase the efficiency of the crown," Elise pointed out.

Elsa furrowed her brow as she took a moment to consider Elise's argument. _Did Elise have a point?_

"If we can convince them that this marriage is completely political, we'll be fine," Elise explained, her excitement growing as she made her point. "We have perfectly legitimate reasons that will have to convince them."

"I highly doubt we'll convince everybody," Elsa objected.

"Els, does that really matter? They can start rumors and make accusations, but at the end of the day, we'd be married for legitimate political reasons and there's nothing they can do to prove otherwise."

"Yes, but it'll throw suspicion on us..."

"Psssh, like it makes a difference," Elise quickly interrupted. "We already look suspicious and they're probably already talking blasphemy. Let me ask you this Elsa, what would the difference be between the world finding out that we're in a relationship while politically married versus not married?"

Elsa pondered the question. She tried to come up with an answer, but ultimately could not and the smile on Elise's face only served to remind her that her twin was making her point. Elise could tell from Elsa's lack of response and blank expression that she couldn't come up with anything.

"Exactly, there is no difference. Hell, it might be worse if we weren't married. Then they'd think I was a witch influencing their queen," Elise joked.

"Elsy, I think you may have a point," Elsa admitted, as much as she didn't want to. "But twin sisters aren't exactly going to put people at ease over the issue of succession." Elsa felt like she was grasping at straws. But she had to, she couldn't afford to leave out any incriminating details in any of Elise's proposed plans and schemes. That's why none of them had worked up to this point.

"That's why we have Anna and her peasant boy. The line of succession will be left to one of our nephews or nieces. There'll be no arguments there. The line of succession will be kept completely in-house."

Elsa was beginning to tire of her sister being right. "Okay, but I doubt I'll convince my council." Now Elsa _was_ grasping at straws.

"I thought you were supposed to be the Queen, the sovereign ruler of Arendelle?" Elise narrowed her eyes at Elsa. "Why don't you start acting like it," she chided.

Elsa narrowed her eyes back. After a few moments of staring each other down, she gave up, dropped her back onto her pillow and stared up at the ceiling. Before she went down, she spotted the small smirk form on Elise's face who continued watching her for a few minutes before laying back down herself.

"It's just something to consider, Els." Elise said calmly and without any smugness or pride in her voice. She used her powers to extinguish the bedside lamp, blanketing the room in darkness. "You can't keep working like this forever and I only want what's best for you."

As she lay there, staring at the ceiling, Elsa started thinking it over. Really started thinking it over. Elise had made some excellent points and the plan actually seemed reasonable.

_But could it work?_

It took several hours for Elsa to finally fall asleep. Her mind had gone over the pros and cons, weighed all her options, and only when Elsa came up with a decision did she allow herself to fall asleep. Elsa already had made a mental list of the thing she was going to need tomorrow.

* * *

Elsa walked into the council chambers with a feeling of confidence she'd never felt before. She kept her head held high and strove to maintain her dominance in the room before the session even started. Even her looks translated to the men in the room that she meant business. She wore the ice dress that she had worn for the arrival of the Americans one month ago, it was a fancy outfit meant for special occasions, and the same went for her hair that she allowed Anna to braid. Today was very important, even though Elsa was the only one who knew it. Even Anna, who tried asking what was so special today as she did Elsa's hair, wasn't told. Her councilmen were left to wonder what was going on. All part of Elsa's plan.

Following their normal greetings, Elsa took her seat at the head of the table. She placed the stack of papers she'd been carrying onto the table in front of her, not missing the odd looks from her councilmen. It wasn't often that the Queen would carry in her own paperwork. They would wonder about it, it was the packet Elsa had spent the last few days throwing together. Yet another part of Elsa's plan—throw them off as much as possible.

"Your majesty, shall we get started or shall we wait for her highness, the Crown Princess?" Chancellor Jakobsen asked once she had settled in her seat.

Elsa smiled at her Chancellor. "No, Princess Elise will not be joining us today. I gave her the day off." With Elise out of the picture, the councilmen could afford to be more ambitious with Elsa. _Good. Let them underestimate me._ _Not to mention this is supposed to be a surprise for Elsy._

"Well then, your majesty," Chancellor Jakobsen began, "let's get started. The first order of business is to discuss the final conclusions of the negotiations with the Americans. Minister Hansen, would you like to comment on that?" Elsa placed her hand on the papers in front of her. It wasn't time to reveal her plan yet though. In all due time.

The younger minister quickly picked up where the Chancellor Jakobsen dropped off. "Yes, well, as you all know, the negotiations have reached their final stages. The official signing ceremony for the Treaty of Amity and Commerce will be held at the end of the week. We have been assured by the American delegation that their Senate will ratify the treaty as soon as possible and without opposition. Work on the American consultant will start after the signing and construction is expected to be finished by the summer. A site and architectural plan has already been chosen. A second American ship is expected to arrive this weekend to pick up the remaining members of the delegations who will return the treaty to the United States for signing. Their Congressmen Garner will deliver the message while Minister Herbert will remain behind to oversee the construction of the consultant. He will be housed in the palace until then."

"Will he send for his family?" Elsa wondered.

"Yes, your majesty, they will arrive on the next ship from America in the spring along with furnishing and the necessary supplies for their consultant."

"Good. Is there anything else that needs my attention on this matter?"

"Well, there are a few last minute numbers and figures that need to be settled," Minister Hansen reported, "but it's all minor stuff and won't require your participation, your majesty."

"Excellent. I want to know of any changes, no matter how minor, reported to me nonetheless," Elsa insisted.

"As you wish, your majesty."

"Well, then, I'm glad we can finally put these negotiations behind us," Elsa proclaimed to the entire council. "They have been extremely successful and Arendelle will greatly benefit from our new friendship with the United States." She turned her attention to Chancellor Jakobsen. "What's next on the agenda, Chancellor?"

Elsa sat patiently as the meeting went on as scheduled. Thankfully, there were no pressing matters outside of the daily reports from each of the ministries. It was going to be a fast meeting. Should have been a fast meeting, Elsa corrected herself.

"Well, if there isn't anything else," Chancellor Jakobosen concluded, "that's all we have for you, your majesty." Elsa could see him eye the packet of papers in front of her. "Is there anything you wish to discuss, your majesty?"

Elsa grinned. "Actually there is," she said while standing up and walking around the table. The councilmen refused to let her out of their sight. "As you are all well aware, I sit on the throne of Arendelle alone without a King." Elsa paused at the other end of the table, now she was certain she had their undivided attention. "As you also may have figured, I have no desire to take a suitor either. My condition does not help with that." Elsa let a small flurry of snowflakes out of her hand to drive her point home.

"You are also aware, that unlike other monarchies, my mother and father shared their work equally. My father may have been King, but that did not stop my mother from sharing power with him. Am I not wrong?" By now, Elsa was back on her side of the table.

The seven men of her council all nodded in acknowledgement. She turned around and stood looking out the grand window that her seat sat in front of. Elsa spoke facing away from her councilmen. "I have ultimately decided to follow in my parent's footsteps, and share this throne.

Elsa didn't need to see behind her to gauge the reaction from the councilmen. She knew they would be surprised and the low murmurs and suppressed coughs confirmed her suspicion. Elsa remained silent, letting them speculate and mule over who Elsa had decided to take as a suitor in their minds.

It was finally Chancellor Jakobsen who spoke up, more out of curiosity as a family friend than a subordinate. "Who may I ask, have you chosen to take as your King, your majesty?" Elsa was glad he asked out of compassion, but guilty that he was going to be the object of her retort.

"Yes," Minister Hansen added before Elsa could respond, "we were under the impression you denied all your suitor requests." It was an obvious attempt to throw insult at her and her decision to deny all those letters which Minister Hansen had once described as "immature and irresponsible". At least Elsa now didn't have to feel guilty for her retort now.

"I never said I was taking a King," Elsa snapped without looking behind her. The room became deathly still. "Now listen to me," Elsa continued in a quieter voice, just loud enough for her councilmen to hear, "not all marriages are done in the name of love or romance and I attest to you that this is one of those cases." Elsa took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself. No matter what, she wasn't going to lose her regal bearing or poise, however, she allowed her eyes, out of view from observers, to scrunch shut in anticipation.

"I intend to take Crown Princess Elise as my Queen," Elsa declared firmly. Without missing a beat, Elsa spun around to face her council, her eyes now open and with the fire of determination. "We will rule side by side as the Queens of Arendelle."

There wasn't a mouth in the chambers that wasn't agape, save for Elsa's. Now Elsa was treading in unfamiliar territory. She had dropped a bombshell. So she wasn't surprised when the first one of them to break was Minister of Commerce, Halstein Vinter, not someone Elsa expected in the slightest.

"You can't be serious?" Minister Vinter laughed. That seemed to break the ice to the short silence as several of the other councilmen smiled, half-hoping their Queen was actually joking.

Elsa's unfaltering gaze removed all trace of smiling in the room. "Does it look like I'm joking?"

Upon realizing that Elsa was serious, not a single eye in the room remained on Elsa.

"Queen Elsa," Chancellor Jakobsen began by clearing his throat. "The laws of succession-"

Elsa rushed towards the table, cutting off the Chancellor with her sudden movement. She tried maintaining her grace and conviction, but misjudged her speed and ending up bumping into the table hard enough to elicit a small yelp. Elsa mentally cursed herself. It was all over, everything would go tumbling down from here.

_No, I'm not giving up here. It was just a minor hiccup, I'm still in control._

Elsa grabbed her papers and slid them across the desk to the Chancellor. "I checked the laws. There is no law that can't be worked around. Check for yourself, I even included solutions for every workaround. I covered every detail from the Church to each edict that I'll need to put forth. Go ahead, read through it, I can wait," Elsa suggested.

Every eye was on the Chancellor as he skimmed through the packet of papers that included excerpts from laws and legal papers as well as notes from Elsa. The other six councilmen watched him as they patiently waited for the Chancellor's word while Elsa stared him down with that determined fire in her eyes. Hopefully, her staring would unnerve him enough to skim through the papers without going in great detail. Elsa was prepared to debate every single point in that packet for hours, but she preferred not to. After at least twenty minutes of excruciating waiting, Elsa sighed, the sound echoing through the deathly silent room. Chancellor Jakobsen took the hint and wrapped up his reading.

"Well, I have to agree, your majesty, you certainly did your research. Of course, there's one thing standing in your way that you didn't cover," he implied. Elsa knew what it was, it was convincing her council to go along with it. All this mental preparation and show was for exactly that purpose. Elsa knew she would never convince them to go along with this, so she was set out to force them to go along with it. If her authority wouldn't work, then she'd try intimidation. If that didn't work, well, she might have start looking for a new council... Technically, while Elsa had absolute rule, when it came to matters of succession there were even laws Elsa had to abide. She could still get her way, but would have to go through councilmen until they all agreed.

"Well?" Elsa asked to the room as she stood up straight. She'd been leaning on the table to stare down her Chancellor while he read. Elsa didn't need to explain her questions, they all knew what she was asking: Were they going to go along with her proposal or not?

"Help me understand, your majesty, why are you doing this?" Chancellor Jakobsen was the only one to speak up after a few moments of silence. Elsa didn't expect anyone to go along with it on the first round. Now she just had to wait for the first person to say what was on all their minds.

But before Elsa could answer the Chancellor, Minister Kristoffersen stepped up to the challenge.

"What are we doing here? This is ridiculous that we are even considering this. How are we going to let this abomination of a plan soil the name of this Kingdom and Church?" the old Treasury Minister exclaimed as he rose out his seat and raised his voice. "God help us if we let this _girl_ ruin this holy and sacred throne with such a repulsive sin and perversion!"

Elsa slammed her fists on the table below her. A jagged blanket of ice shot out from the point of impact coming to a stop only inches from the closest councilmen. "How dare you speak such blasphemy to me, old man!" Elsa whirled around, her feet crunching through the ice that had spread along the floor from her feet as she walked to the window while massaging her temples. To the councilmen that weren't glaring at Minister Kristoffersen or gulping at the ice, Elsa appeared to be trying to hide her shame from losing control.

Appearances couldn't be any farther from the truth, though. Elsa was trying to hide the smirk that she couldn't hold back. That show had gone spectacularly well. Granted, she was a little heated that her Treasury Minister had disrespected her so blatantly—he had started becoming much more hostile to Elsa ever since Elise showed up—however, he played his part well. As Elsa stared out the window, pretending to 'calm' herself down, she started getting a sinking gut feeling that threatened to unravel all her hard work.

_Oh, God, I just intentionally used my powers to intimidate people to do my will. That's something Elise would do, she's starting to rub off on me...focus Elsa. Pull yourself together, you're still not done acting._

"I thought I made it perfectly clear," Elsa feigned anger through gritted teeth, "that I am NOT in any kind of romantic relationship with my _twin sister_ , nor do I intend to be in one." Elsa whirled back around to face the table. "Am I clear now?" she demanded with a snarl. Elsa had let the anger she felt towards Kristoffersen's disrespect fuel her acting. It felt good, letting that raw, animalist power take over.

_This is what being Elise feels like._

All the councilmen nodded quickly. Minister Kristoffersen refused to meet Elsa's eyes. After getting her confirmation, Elsa strolled back to the table and returned to her seat. She rested her arms on the table and without any effort, the ice in the room disappeared.

"Chancellor, you asked me why? Let me tell you why. Princess Elise is not only my sister. She is my twin and I have found that over the past few weeks that we work best as a team like my father and mother before me. We are an excellent team, Princess Elise is extremely talented and smart despite her upbringing. This move will ensure us to reach our full potential. I'm not saying I can't do this alone, do not get the impression," Elsa glared at Minister Kristoffersen, "but having her at my side will help out a lot. Princess Elise will make an excellent Queen, I can promise you that. You all know that already, you've seen her work over the past month. Maybe she isn't fully up to the task yet, after all I've been trained for this position for a lifetime, but she'll have me besides her the whole time. Elise and I-Princess Elise and I will personally lead Arendelle to greatness."

Elsa stood up again and started walking around table. "I understand that this may make you uncomfortable, but how is this any different than the rest of Europe? They even breed, sometimes between siblings on the continent. How can anyone decry this arrangement when it's purely political and platonic?" Elsa paused to gauge their reaction. No one looked convinced. Well, she didn't expect to convince them, just ease their concerns, but she didn't notice that either.

"But there is more to this arrangement than improving the crown's efficiency, I assure you," Elsa continued. "Arendelle is a young kingdom, without much historical claim. As it stands, the bloodline of Arendelle's throne is split between the House of Hohenzollern and the House of Glücksburg. Either house could lay claim to my throne if they wanted to. If I were to choose a male suitor to produce an heir, I would have to either side with the Hohenzollerns or the House of Glücksburg and commit acts of _incest_ or I could marry into another house and thus add to the list of claims. No matter what we do, we gain some, but we also lose some. Not to mention, having a foreign influence on the throne in the form of a King, a King who may be less willing to share his power like my father did. This way, everything is in-house."

"I wouldn't exactly call Princess Elise, 'in-house'," General Holt spoke up. After Elsa's last outburst, this comment was brave of him.

"I trust Princess Elise with my life and the lives of all of the citizens of Arendelle. You all already do to, she is the Crown Princess of Arendelle after all."

"I understand, the general's concern, your majesty," Chancellor Jakobosen remarked. "We're only looking out for your safety. What if this is a plot by Princess Elise to gain control of the throne?"

Elsa wasn't surprised they still didn't trust Elise. "May I remind you all that Princess Elise is the Crown Princess, so what difference does it make?"

Chancellor Jakobosen leaned forward and sighed. "Your majesty, if something were to happen to you right now, there are some people who wouldn't accept her highness's claim to the throne. There is a faction that would defiantly side with Princess Anna as your successor."

Elsa stopped dead in her tracks. "Are you speaking of treason, Chancellor?"

"No, your majesty, I'm just pointing out fact. If Princess Elise was crowned queen, there would be no challenge to her claim. Please do remember how things are seen from our perspective. Princess Elise came out of nowhere, tried violently overthrowing the rightful Queen of Arendelle, and not a month later you're suggesting we hand her a spot on that very throne. For some people, it looks like your mind is being warped to hand over Arendelle to her. Nobody outside of you knows her at all."

Elsa couldn't stay mad at the Chancellor. He had a point, from an outsider looking in, things were very suspicious. "You have absolutely every right to be concerned, Chancellor," Elsa conceded. "However, you are wrong about Elise. I swear on my own title that Princess Elise is not a bad person and there is no conspiracy by her against me. I swear." Elsa allowed her stern royal bearing to break just long enough to convey the gentle smile that she meant not for the Chancellor of Arendelle, but for a family friend.

"If you're willing to swear by it, then I have no reason to believe otherwise, my Queen." The other councilmen nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad that clears that up," Elsa picked her stroll around the table back up. "Now where was I, ah yes, the line of succession. The line of succession will be kept completely in-house. Obviously, neither Princess Elise nor I would be in a position to bear an heir, which would leave the next in line very clearly to my dear sister, Princess Anna, and her future children. I am aware she is not married, however, I do know one day she will be so and she does intend to produce children when that happens. That not only settles the debate of the line of succession, but keeps foreign powers from laying claim to Arendelle through heirs." Elsa could read the question on everyone's mind. "The nobles will have to be content with Princess Anna's choice of suitor if I make him of royal blood. There should be no issues of the bloodline being tainted with non-royal blood." Once again, Elsa stopped at her end of the table. "That is the basis for my reasoning behind this proposal. If you want a more detail explanation," Elsa pointed to the papers in front of the Chancellor, "go ahead and read. Now, does this council support my move?"

The councilmen looked to one another questioningly. Elsa hoped she could end this debate here. She only had one more trick up her sleeve and if that failed, Elsa was going to be in a bad spot. Elsa took her seat once more and waved her hand, indicating that the councilmen could talk amongst themselves. It was a bold move letting them talk amongst themselves, but Elsa had to give them some leeway, perhaps her supporters could convince the others.

As she listened in on their conversations, her heart sank. From what she could hear, Ministers Kristoffersen, Hansen, and General Holt were strictly opposed to the idea. The Commerce and Agricultural Ministers were more indifferent, but not convinced. Even Chancellor Jakobsen and Admiral Hoffamn appeared not to be convinced. Finally, the murmuring died down and one by one the councilmen spoke to their Queen.

"This arrangement is both unconventional and foolish." Minister Kristoffersen was the first to give his opinion. "I cannot stand behind this affront against both the throne and the crown."

Beside him, Minister Halstein Vinter shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't support this arrangement either, your majesty. I understand the reasoning, however, I believe this move is far too unorthodox."

"I am with Halstein on this, your majesty," Minister Caj Nielsen remarked.

The Foreign Minister looked at Elsa briefly. "I don't think you quite understand the political ramifications of this move, Queen Elsa," he began. "You may have covered everything regarding the facts of law, however, facts mean nothing out in the real world. It's all about opinion and perception on the world political stage. You can't cover that up with any amount of notes or laws. I will not go along with your proposal."

"I agree with Minister Hansen," General Holt spoke up next. "The political fallout would not be worth it. You'd be putting the entire people of Arendelle at risk just because you want to play King and Queen with your sister. I will not support this." Elsa glared at both the men on her left.

Admiral Hoffman was a stark contrast to his two councilmen on that side of the table though. He looked at Elsa somberly. "I know you mean well, Queen Elsa, and your reasons are sound, however, this is simply too unusual. You know how the world is..." the Admiral trailed off.

That left one person. Elsa turned to meet her Chancellor's somber gaze. "I'm sorry, your majesty, but this council cannot stand behind your proposal," the Chancellor declared.

That was it. Elsa was down to her last trick. A bluff. If this failed, she would be in serious trouble.

Elsa cleared her throat. "I see how it is," she calmly started. "If that's how it's going to be, then I'll just have to try again tomorrow."

Audible sighs erupted from a few of the men. Minister Kristoffersen was the first to speak. "Your majesty, we'll say the same thing and every time after that if we have to."

Elsa started gathering her papers and notes, pretending to be ready to finish the meeting. "Oh, I highly doubt that," Elsa quipped as if it were just a side comment.

The other councilmen, who followed Elsa's lead and started gathering their own notes, all stopped out of curiosity and looked up as Elsa continued to casually take her time gathering her belongings.

"And why is that, your majesty?" Minister Kristoffersen asked in a hushed voice.

The Queen smiled. "Because by tomorrow, I'll have an entirely new council who will be far more obedient."

The stunned silence that followed pleased Elsa. "Oh, don't worry," she continued, "I've already handpicked my new advisors. It won't take much to bring them up to speed. I already have a contingency plan ready for such a sudden change in government so don't you worry about that, all your ministries will transition fine."

The truth was, Elsa didn't have anyone lined up. Well, she did, but not for such a sudden change. The truth was that Elsa _needed_ these people and the unique skills that came with them. Arendelle needed strong leadership and this was quite possibly the worst time to replace her entire council. There could be chaos, economic downtown, hurt reputations; a whole list of possible things to go wrong. That was her bluff, that Elsa could convince this council that she didn't need them, when in fact she desperately did.

They had to know that though, they weren't stupid. Elsa knew that they knew, but she had to try anyway. If she could bluff her way into making them think she was prepared enough to replace them—and if they cared about their own careers—then maybe Elsa could come out on top.

"You're not serio-"

"I am dead serious," Elsa quickly cutoff the Foreign Minister. Her content smile was replaced with a stern glare she made sure every councilmen saw.

Another stunned silence followed as the councilmen looked to one another, using only their eyes to communicate. Finally, the Chancellor caught her attention and she arched an eyebrow in his direction.

"Your majesty, I have decided that it would probably be best to support your proposal," he conceded if not a tad bit reluctantly. Elsa felt triumphant. Her bluff worked. All it would take is one or two councilmen to fold and the rest would follow.

"I will as well, your majesty," Admiral Hoffman seconded. There was Elsa's second. There was no stopping it now.

Both Ministers Vinter and Nielsen acknowledged their support as well. Elsa looked from her Treasury Minister to her Foreign Minister and General. All three were glaring at her. Admiral Hoffman and Chancellor Jakobosen glared back at them for her.

A standoff ensured as Elsa stared the two younger men on her left down and they glared back. Finally, Minister Hansen folded, but not before glancing at Minister Kristoffersen right before agreeing to support her proposal. General Holt followed immediately after. Elsa turned around to stare down Kristoffersen, however he quickly nodded, and reluctantly agreed.

Elsa was beaming with so much pride and joyfulness that she could barely contain it. "Well then, that settles our meeting for today. I'll see you all tomorrow," she declared. Elsa stood up, cradling her papers to her chest and quickly made for the door before she burst out into tears of joy. At the door she stopped and turned around. "Oh and Chancellor, I'd like to see you in my study. I want to start going over some of the details of my arrangement."

Elsa barely waited for him to reply as she rushed out into her private foyer where she collapsed against the wall. Elsa couldn't contain the laughter as she was overcome with a mixture of relief and joy.

* * *

The rest of the councilmen sluggishly filed out of the room after their queen had left. The atmosphere was somber and tense and no one said a word to another. All seven of the older, experienced councilmen had been outplayed and defeated by a shy and timid recluse who was barely old enough to be considered a woman.

Secretly though, both Chancellor Jakobosen and Admiral Hoffman were happy for Elsa. They both wanted to openly support her endeavor, however, both were worried it was too risky. Elsa gave them both the perfect opportunity to play hard to get in front of the rest of council, while still giving the Queen what she wanted. Both of them saw right through Elsa's bluff regardless.

In fact, they all saw through Elsa's bluff and had it not been for the Chancellor and Admiral speaking up, Elsa would have been called out on it.

Three men lingered in the chambers as the other four left. While Elsa had been staring down Minister Hansen, waiting for his confirmation, she missed Treasury Minister Kristoffersen nod to the Foreign Minister and General to fold. The liberal Foreign Minister and nationalist General may have been historical rivals to the old conservative councilman, however, they both knew when an enemy of one's enemy became a friend and they both respected his wisdom.

Over the past few weeks, a shift in Queen Elsa's Council was taking place. Minister Kristoffersen, once a level-headed voice of reason and strict conservative, was becoming increasingly hostile to the young Queen's rule. No one was sure why, though the other's speculated, including Elsa herself, that the reveal of the cover-up of Princess Elise had been the Kristoffersen's final straw against King Agdar and his legacy which Elsa and Elise both represented. He had never approved of the late King's constant taking of treasury funds to maintain personal secrets. Minister Hansen and General Holt had took notice of this shift and took the opportunity to use him to form a block against Elsa's two biggest supporters, Admiral Hoffman and Chancellor Jakobosen. Hansen and Holt had decided to let the more experienced man lead them. So when Kristoffersen silently advised them to fold, they listened.

"This is unacceptable," Hansen broke the silence first when they were sure the rest of the councilmen were a safe distance away. "This girl has no idea the repercussions she'll bring down on Arendelle just so that her demented sister can play queen too."

"Yes Torbjørn, you better have a good explanation for this," Holt queried to the Treasury Minister. "We should not have agreed to this. I hardly trust Queen Elsa on the throne, the last thing Arendelle needs is another, less stable version of her."

"Patience both of you," Kristoffersen scolded. "Would you rather be out of a job or in a position where you can actually help Arendelle?"

"You may be right," Hansen conceded, "but we have to do something. There had to be a reason why _Princess_ Elise was separated from the royal family. We don't want her wearing that crown, nor do we want this violation of nature that Elsa calls a marriage to take place."

"And we will do something, Minister Hansen, but for now we will play this foolish girl's game."

* * *

"Well, Elsa, what do you need to tell us?" Anna asked. Elsa had asked Anna and Elise to meet her in their private parlor for an emergency family meeting after dinner.

"And what's all this stuff for?" Elise added gesturing to a whole assortment of chocolates, peppermint candies, and champagne all laid on one of the parlor's tables.

Elsa looked down at her two sisters sitting on the couch in front of her. Elsa had been too giddy all day to tell them both, but now with Elise in front of her, she was at a loss of words. Elsa bit her lip, she was wringing her hands together nervously.

"Well?" Elise prodded.

"I asked you both to meet me here...to celebrate," Elsa finally answered.

"Celebrate what?" Anna asked.

"Well...Elsy, do you remember what we talked about a couple of days ago?"

Elise slightly tilted her head to the side, somewhat confused. "...yes."

"Well," Elsa couldn't contain her composure and she started grinning wide. "I had a talk with my council today and..."

Elise shot up to her feet, her eyes wide open, suddenly realizing what Elsa was getting at. "And?"

Elsa continued smiling and simply nodded.

Elise took a step towards Elsa. "No," she whispered under her breath.

"Yes," Elsa squeaked. She could feel her eyes tearing up. Elise continued staring at her with wide eyes, running her hands through her short black hair in disbelief. Then Elise slowly started to smile and she chuckled to herself.

Back on the couch, Anna was trying to comprehend what was happening. "Uh, hello, did I miss something—" but before Anna could finish, Elise squealed and rushed over to Elsa, toppling them both unto the floor when she reached her. They were both crying tears of joy.

"Okay, what's going on?" Anna asked, even more confused than before.

Elsa sat up with Elise sitting in her lap and their faces pressed together. They both turned, without separating, to Anna. "We're getting married!"

Anna's face was transformed from confusion to shock and finally to joy. Elsa and Elise both winced when Anna squealed twice as loud as Elise. They were both knocked to the ground moments later with Anna on top.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks for my two beta readers once again.
> 
> Just in case there was any confusion with the nicknames: Elsy=Elise and Els=Elsa
> 
> I know keeping track of all these councilmen can be confusing, so here's a little cheat sheet:
> 
> Count Yngvi Jakobsen – Chancellor
> 
> Torbjørn Kristoffersen – Minister of Treasury
> 
> Halstein Vinter – Minister of Commerce
> 
> Caj Nielsen – Minister of Agriculture
> 
> Hallvard Hansen – Foreign Minister
> 
> General Gulbrand Holt – Army
> 
> Admiral Anved Hoffmann – Navy
> 
> Sorry for the delay. It's probably going to be like this for the rest of the semester though. Actually, I went back and edited the old chapters, which occupied some of my writing time that I should have been using writing this chapter so future might not be as long. 's no point going back and rereading them, I just tried bringing them up to my current standards for new readers. Thanks for continuing to read and hope you enjoyed this chapter. Things are getting real now.


	17. Crossroads

Filling the darkness from the bed of the Queen of Arendelle came the sound of giggles and groans. Elsa and Elise were locked in a tangle of limbs in a session of passionate smooching, an activity Elsa was well too fond of. She was hooked ever since the first time with Elise in her ice palace and she enjoyed every intimate moment thereafter with her twin-turned-lover no less than that first time.

It would always start out innocently, but Elise had a habit of being spontaneous. Sometimes a goodnight kiss would turn into something more passionate. Sometimes it would be a good morning kiss that started it. But they never lead to anything more than passionate kissing and fondling…unfortunately for Elise.

As Elise trailed a line of icy kisses down her throat, Elsa felt a hand snaking up her nightgown. She was lost in a moment of ecstasy and bliss, but when the hand reached her inner thigh, Elsa came back to her senses instantly. With her free hand, Elsa reached down and grabbed Elise's wrist in a vice grip. Elise at once stopped what she was doing and backed her face away from Elsa's body, her bedroom eyes were already replaced by a look of disappointment, but not surprise, as if Elise knew Elsa was going to put a stop to their make-out session once this happened anyway.

"Goodnight, Elsy," Elsa bluntly stated, clearly no longer in the mood.

Elsa had specifically told Elise that she wanted to wait until her wedding night to consummate their marriage properly as it should be done. Elsa was a woman of tradition and she wasn't going to let their unorthodox relationship get in the way of that. She had been telling Elise that for the past three months and they still had four months to go until the wedding ceremony in the summer. It was set for the anniversary of Elsa's coronation. Still, Elise wouldn't let up trying to initiate sex. Every time, despite how horny Elsa may have felt at the moment, she put a stop to it at once. And every time the mood would end there.

Not that Elsa was too concerned over this as she rolled her eyes. It was a minor inconvenience and didn't happen too often to be a problem or so Elsa thought. To her there were more important things regardless.

Besides her, Elise sighed and silently returned to her side of the bed and fell asleep.

* * *

"Good morning, Elsy," Anna greeted as she walked into the parlor for their daily lessons. Elise simply looked up at her younger sister without saying a word. She had been in a bad stupor since waking up earlier that morning over the events of the night before. "Oh, you don't look so good. Bad night?" she asked, quickly noticing Elise's depressed state.

Elise almost smiled at the compassion Anna showed her. She was always so caring. "It's nothing," Elise tried brushing off Anna's concern.

"Nah, doesn't look like it. What's the matter, Elsy? Come on, you know you can tell me," Anna prodded.

Elise appreciated Anna's concern. It meant a lot to her. She'd only known Anna for a few months, but they had fast become best friends. In anticipation for her crowning as queen, Elsa was determined to see that Elise was properly educated beforehand, even if it meant carrying out most of the workload until their marriage. It only made sense then for Elise to be paired up with Anna who still had lessons to attend herself. As a result, Elise was spending a great deal more time with Anna and they bonded quickly. Elise knew that she could in fact tell Anna anything. It came with the bond she had been forming with her younger sister. "It's Elsa," she finally admitted.

"Oh," Anna started as she took a seat across from Elise. They still had enough time for a talk before their lessons began. "Are you two going through relationship trouble?"

"I don't know, Anna, I just feel like she doesn't love me," Elise sighed.

"What? Impossible. This is Elsa we're talking about. Why do you feel this way though?" Anna asked.

Elise felt embarrassed for what she was going to say, but knew she could confide it with Anna. "She never wants to do it with me as much as I try." Anna looked at her blankly, obviously missing what 'it' meant. "You know what I mean by it..."

"Oh." Color rose to Anna's freckled cheeks at the realization. "Ooh, I see. Well, you know that Elsa can be kind of a stickler with this subject, she's a very reserved person after all. Have you tried talking to her?"

"Well, not really," Elise confessed, "but, she told me she won't engage in any sexual activity until marriage. I don't see a point trying to convince her otherwise, she's too stubborn."

"Elsy, that's how it works here. We wait until marriage, it's called chastity, and you should know that by now, you've been here long enough. Believe me, I think it's stupid too," Anna tried explaining with a chuckle. "That's why I'm still a virgin...sort of."

Elise herself wasn't convinced and wrapped her arms around her body as feelings of loneliness and despair took hold. "Can't she make an exception? I mean, we're not exactly a normal couple, I'm not even a man, and it wouldn't be any different than what you and I both do to our own bodies, right? What about my needs?" Elise argued.

Anna scooted closer and placed her hand on Elise's thigh to assure her. "I admit, I don't know how masturbation plays into this whole chastity thing and I simply don't care, as you might've heard," Anna insinuated with a bashful grin. "And to be honest, I don't know the first thing about how a romantic relationship between two women is supposed to work or how it applies to chastity either, let alone two sisters. I mean is there like a, 'if I commit acts of incest, does that mean I don't have to follow other rules' clause? Who knows, but don't worry about it, I'm pretty sure this is just a case of skittish-Elsa being skittish. She put her life and a lot more on the line just to be with you. She loves you."

"But it makes me feel horrible. All I want is to be loved. That's all I ever wanted," Elise confided to her younger sister as she began to silently cry.

"Oh, Elsy, don't cry, we both love you very much," Anna insisted as she again moved closer, this time wrapping Elise in a hug. "Els isn't like me and you, remember that. You don't expect her to be chitchatting over who is having relations with who or our own personal sexual desires, do you? I mean, this is _our_ Elsa we're talking about here," Anna laughed at the ridiculous notion of her chaste sister partaking in such activity. "I mean, I can't even get her to admit that she was infatuated with this one servant girl when we were kids. I'm pretty sure she touched..." Anna trailed off as she realized she was starting to ramble.

Elise didn't take notice of Anna's rambling nor did she catch the reference of Elsa's original female crush, the one that Elsa had confided with her months ago in the ice palace. She was busy finding the image of Elsa taking part in that kind of discussion amusing like Anna had pointed out. Unfortunately the thought was slightly depressing at the same time. If only Elsa was as open as Anna was, Elise wished to herself.

Anna leaned back and started wiping away Elise's tears. "Now come on, no more tears, only happiness now. Smile," Anna ordered. Elise smiled. "Better?"

Elise nodded.

"Are you going to talk to Elsa about this?" Anna asked.

Elise nodded again.

"Good." Anna returned to her seat just a few minutes before their tutor would've arrived. "Who knew one day I'd be relationship counseling between my two sisters," Anna marveled. "Weird."

"Anna, I'm so happy to have you has a sister. You're so kind to me," Elise admitted.

"Awe, that means so much, Elsy," Anna responded as she leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on Elise's forehead and tussled her hair in a playful manner.

Elise was glad their tutor walked in just then to provide Elise a distraction because the giddiness she felt at Anna's contact disturbed her greatly. She refroze her tussled hair back into place and stole one quick, curious glance at Anna before focusing her attention on the day's lesson plan…

* * *

"And right before Joan rescued me, I woke up."

"Do you always dream about paintings?" Elise laughed.

"No, sometimes I have dreams with you or Elsa. Sometimes I have...other types of dreams," Anna blushed and gave Elise an impish smirk.

Elise returned the sly look as she understood Anna's reference. "Oh, whatever do you mean?" Elise asked in a low voice, even though she already knew the answer.

"The best kind of dreams, the less than dry kind," Anna murmured with a wink.

Elise leaned in closer to younger sister. "Those are my favorite kind of dreams, too," Elise whispered.

The two sisters broke out in a fit of giggling that was quickly interrupted by their tutor as she cleared her throat upon reentering the parlor.

"I hope you two have been reading while I was gone like I asked," the tutor scolded. They hadn't been of course. Anna was recounting her last night's dreams to Elise.

"Yes, ma'am," Elise and Anna said in unison. Elise rolled her eyes and returned to the text in front of her. She felt like she was learning faster than this woman could teach. She had to give her credit though, for putting up with her and Anna and the tricks they sometimes played on the poor old woman. Ice magic made a wonderful pranking aide. With her back in the room, Elise and Anna's chitchatting had to come to an end, however, and it was time to get back to work.

Elise looked up from her text to look over at Anna and watched her as she intently read her own book. Elise was grateful for Anna's presence over these past few months. She had been so kind to Elise, once she got over the whole protecting Elsa thing, and they connected so well. Still, Elise wasn't exactly sure what it was that drew her to their younger sister.

Perhaps it was what she offered that Elsa didn't. Elsa was certainly the love of her life, but she was far from perfect, Elise realized, much like her own self. Once she had gotten settled into Arendelle, Elise quickly realized that the royal lifestyle wasn't all it lived up to be. It was too restricting, too ordered, and too overbearing. She preferred to live simple and carefree, without the weight of responsibility and rules holding her back. She realized becoming queen would be even worse, but she took solace in knowing it would be with her love and thus well worth it. But it was Anna who offered Elise a bit of the freedom she enjoyed before all this.

While Elsa had to be practically coerced into doing anything fun that might also be potentially risky, Anna was a free spirit and never shied away from trying something new and exciting. Whenever Elise had time off from lessons or work, there was a good chance that she and Anna were off on some kind of adventure, more often than not Elsa would be unavailable and it ended up just being them two. Usually they were exploring the castle grounds or interior or playing some kind of game in between their lessons and work. Rarely did they get to go outside of the castle gates on some kind of adventure more than once a week, but when they did Elise took a fancy to exploring the woods surrounding Arendelle in particular, which Anna was thrilled to take part in. Sometimes Anna's suitor, Kristoff, would act as their guide and sometimes they could elicit Elsa to come with them. Sometimes.

Elsa was always too busy with "preparing for this marriage" or "making sure Arendelle got through the winter" as an excuse. Elise understood the importance and validity of the excuses, but she wished Elsa wasn't such a workaholic, a condition that seemed to be getting worse for Elsa as their wedding got closer. She did actually look forward to becoming queen, despite the lifestyle that would come with it, as it would be a chance to lift some of Elsa's burden and get her out more. Even Anna took notice to Elsa's work routine. She had even admitted to Elise that ever since the marriage proposal had become a thing, it had become almost impossible for Anna to get Elsa to take part in any of her spontaneous escapades. Her younger sister confessed that she now only bothered asking Elsa to go on them because Elise, who could only wish her lover was as spontaneous, always agreed.

That was another point about Anna. She was open, direct, to the point, and confident with her emotions. She wasn't afraid to come up to Elise and tell her how she really felt, despite only knowing her for a few short months. With Elsa, Elise sometimes wondered how she even managed to admit that she loved her in the first place. Elsa was often prone to shutting herself out and making it difficult to broadcast how she really felt. Despite Elise's social handicap from years of isolation, she could read Elsa well enough and knew when she had a problem or concern that she was keeping bottled up. She suspected that was just twin intuition.

However, it wasn't like Elsa hadn't already spilled her entire life story out to Elise when they had first meaningfully met in that cell. But Elise soon learned that there was far more to Elsa than what she had been told; emotions and thoughts hidden away in Elsa's mind that were only brief mentions she had made during the tale of her life story and in other conversations. She had briefly mentioned contemplating suicide once, for example, but never went into detail. Elise wanted to know everything about Elsa, she didn't want any barriers between them. Nothing to hold them back from sharing their true emotions or inner thoughts and it was a shame because Elise loved her dearly, but couldn't understand why she still had to pry Elsa open to get at her inner thoughts or emotions despite their romantic and sibling relationship. It tore at the fabric of her heart. And sometimes, however, Elsa was simply too difficult to read. They were both learning and getting better though; Elise was finding it easier to read Elsa as time went on and she could tell Elsa was making an effort on her part to be me open. But they weren't getting better fast enough, at least as fast as Elise thought they should.

Anna, on the other hand, was far simpler. She was upfront and very easy to read. Elise didn't have to pry Anna open nor did Anna have difficulties getting her point across. When Anna had told her how depressing growing up without Elsa was, she spared none of her inner turmoil or details. Elise enjoyed that in Anna as sometimes Elsa's complicated emotions were just too overwhelming for someone with such little experience with social interaction to handle. No topic was off-bounds to them, from lascivious gossip to relationship trouble, and soon Elise found herself almost more willing to go to Anna than Elsa for certain opinions, such as the talk that they had a few days before being a prime example. Elise had in fact tried mentioning it to Elsa since her talk with Anna, but Elsa simply blew it off saying:

"We went over this before, Elise, we're going to wait until our wedding night to consummate our marriage. There is no argument here."

Elise didn't bother trying to argue. Elsa wasn't being rude about it, she just didn't realize what it meant to Elise, but Elise wasn't sure how to explain it to her. This was the typical way it went when Elise brought it up. She knew Elsa was doing what she thought was right, but every time Elsa shot her down, Elise felt a stab of pain in her heart. It felt like she was unloved, unworthy to be touched or to touch Elsa. It was as if Elise could only love Elsa and Elsa could only love her back so much before that had to stop. When Elise had no one else to love her at the North Pole, loving herself meant going all the way in the physical realm to make up for it, even though her own hands could never fill in that gap no matter how hard she tried. Maybe that wasn't how it worked here, that the level of physical intimacy wasn't as important as other realms of love, but that's how it was to Elise.

Anna actually understood Elise's concerns or least listened to them. Anna knew what it was like to think she wasn't loved and ignored. Anna would listen, understand, and comfort and Elise was grateful for her being there for her. _At least Anna is always there for me, while Elsa busies herself with more work. Right?_

Anna was also attractive, physically, of course and Elise definitely found herself attracted to her. Not as attractive as Elsa, but certainly close. Elsa and Anna shared some characteristics in their looks and it was easy for Elise to spot the familiarities they shared which were much more subtle than their glaring differences. The similarities, however, were far too subtle for Elise to blame her odd attraction to the younger girl on that. She was unsure what made her find Anna, her own little sister and not lover, attractive and sometimes it unnerved her. Was feelings of attractions to one's siblings normal? Elise had no idea. Of course, Elise knew her incestuous love for Elsa was far from normal, but was she supposed to feel attracted to her other siblings as well? She wasn't "in love" with Anna, but she was certainly attracted to her. Did everyone have these feelings at times or was it just her?

It was questions like these that Elise always pondered on ever since that one day several weeks ago, Elise found herself thinking, _wow, Anna is certainly pretty_. At the time, she blew it off as a stray thought, but ever since then Elise had realized that Anna could turn her on. But that didn't mean she thought Elsa was any less good looking. She just...found Anna attractive as well. _This is normal, right?_

As the days would go by since creating a bond with Anna, Elise found herself asking this question more and more. _Is it normal?_ Getting shot down by Elsa in the bedroom only exasperated the problem. Every time something would turn her away from Elsa, she'd find it in Anna. She wasn't falling in love with Anna like she had with Elsa, that Elise was sure of, but... Regardless, Elise was left on her own to wonder. She didn't know how to approach the subject with Elsa, nor did she know how Elsa would react. She feared that Elsa would take it as Elise no longer loving her, even though Elise sometimes thought that about Elsa herself. And she couldn't go to Anna, despite the openness between them. It was far too risky, just in case this attractiveness was not as normal as Elise feared.

That left Elise stuck in a cycle of ignorance and fear. She didn't know if it was normal and she couldn't ask anyone if it was or not because she didn't know if it was normal. Elise had a hard life.

* * *

The three royal sisters sat in rather unusual silence in the dining hall that night. Elise was still mulling over her thoughts over Anna. She had spent most of the rest of her lessons, in fact, mulling over her unnerving attraction to her younger sister and the special bond they had formed. Elise felt like she was at a crossroads in her relationship, she felt like she was in the process of losing Elsa and that Anna was meant to be her alternate. The thought was disturbing for a multitude of reasons.

Elise's silent stupor, combined with Elsa's usual calm and regal demeanor, transmitted directly into Anna's behavior. Her typical giddiness was being suppressed on her own to fit the atmosphere of her two older siblings.

But Elise was aware enough to notice that Anna had picked up on her sullen attitude, enough to affect her own attitude at least. And if Anna had noticed, Elsa must have too. The problem was, Elise couldn't tell if Elsa had or not. She certainly showed no signs of it.

_Why does she have to hide? Why can't she just acknowledge that she knows something is wrong? Why is she so afraid of confrontation?_

The room had become deathly still as Elsa and Anna stopped what they were doing to stare at Elise.

"Elsy, what's wrong?" Anna asked, her voice cut through the silence like a wolf howling on a silent night, startling Elise out of her stupor.

Upon returning from the land within her mind, Elise suddenly realized what she had been doing and recoiled. She was unintentionally staring...no, glaring at Elsa across the table and both girls had taken notice.

But Elise's sudden embarrassment was replaced with irritation at another sudden realization. It was Anna who had voiced her concern. Anna had actually spoke up while Elsa had done nothing.

"It's nothing," Elise answered, trying to hide her disappointment that Elsa couldn't even ask her what was wrong, let alone show any sign of noticing.

_She doesn't love me anymore, does she? Was I just a fling to her, something to fulfil a need that she already got over?_

"Well...so Elsy, are you excited for tomorrow as I am?" Anna asked, trying change the subject quickly, obviously aware of something going on behind the scenes.

 _Tomorrow? Oh yeah, tomorrow._ Elise had completely forgotten that she had a date with Anna to go into town tomorrow. Elise and Anna had been looking forward to it for a week. Leave it to Anna to not forget.

Elise and Anna spent the rest of dinner reveling in their hype for tomorrow's outing. Eventually, Anna had decided to include Elsa in the conversation, who had stayed quiet most of dinner.

"Are you sure you can't come with us tomorrow, Elsa?" Anna asked.

"Yeah, Els, come on, you never go out with us," Elise reminded her, hoping this time things would be different.

"I'm sorry, girls, I just have simply too much work to do," Elsa explained.

"You should let me help, you're working too much," Elise tried arguing.

"No, Elise, we talked about this. You have to complete you lessons," Elsa reasoned.

"You can't keep doing this to yourself. You have to enjoy life, too."

"It'll only be for a few months more, Elsy, until our wedding, then you'll be queen too and everything will be fine," Elsa tried to reassure her, as if Elise hadn't heard this same excuse before.

Elise opened her mouth to continue arguing, but found herself at a loss for words. She just...didn't care to try. She and Elsa had this conversation multiple times before and it always went the same direction with the same result. It wasn't like a fight or a heated argument, they rarely actually fought, it was just...Elsa thinking she knew best and too stubborn to see the other side. She thought she knew what was best for Elise, just like how she thought she knew what was best for Anna. And that had been for years.

But Elise didn't shut her mouth. "Like you know what's best for us," she mumbled while crossing her arms in a huff. It was too low Elsa for to hear what was said, but loud enough to get her attention. Elise diverted her attention to anything but her.

"I'm sorry, what?" Elsa asked out of curiosity, obviously; and to Elise's relief, not hearing what Elise had said or the tone she said it in.

Elise refused to acknowledge Elsa, pretending she hadn't heard her twin speak. Anna, on the hand, could tell what was going on, even if she didn't hear what Elise had said herself. She quickly intervened, for the second time on Elise's behalf. This was the type of thing that made Anna so special.

"Well, I for one am super excited for tomorrow. We're going to have so much fun. We'll make sure to bring you back something special, Els," Anna interjected.

Elise had to smile at the girl's optimism. It was a trait that fit her well. If only Elsa was...

"Come on, Elsy," Anna said, interrupting Elise's thoughts. "Let's go to the library and study since I'll be too tired to tomorrow after we get back." Anna was up from the table and dragging Elise towards the library before either Elise or Elsa could say a word.

As the two princesses sped off out of the dining hall, no one notice the queen's shoulders slouch and her head fall into her hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to my two beta readers, road and Mig.
> 
> Based on the new updates about Elsa and Anna's birthdays from Jennifer Lee, I have decided that I could change the date of Elsa's birth without compromising the story. Originally, it was listed as a cool summer day in 1821. It is now listed as the winter solstice of 1820. As a result, Elsa and Elise are 8 months older, but the year of the coronation and the start of this fic is still 1842. At the time of the coronation Elsa is 21 years and 8 months old and Anna is 18 years and 1 month old. Since this chapter takes place in the spring (around March) of 1843, Elsa and Elise are now 22 while Anna is still 18. By the time the marriage takes place (the anniversary of Elsa's coronation), Anna will be 19 since her birthday is on the summer solstice. Her birth year would be 1824 in this fic in case you were wondering.
> 
> Now I'm waiting for them to come out and say something different.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your reviews.


	18. Betrayal

Elise hurried down the hall, her arms folded close to herself, almost secretly, as she carried her precious cargo. When she reached the familiar door that was her destination, she could hardly see over her burden, so she knocked on it with her foot. The door swung open almost immediately. Elise didn't even wait for Anna to let her in, she pushed through the doorway, hurried to the bed, and deposited her treasure on the bed in a final huff. Carrying all that stuff was a workout.

When she turned back around, she found her younger sister, the Princess of Arendelle, dressed in her nightgown and shutting the door quickly.

"Did you get the stuff?" Anna asked as she hurriedly whisked over to the bed.

Elise smiled coyly and reached into the basket behind her. "Oh, I got it all right," she assured as she started pulling out the contents then continued excitedly. "Wine, chocolates, and as much dessert as I could cram in here."

Anna squealed in delight as she shoved her way past Elise to their basket of goodies. She grabbed a bottle of wine, but paused as she looked over at the contents spread across her bed. "Uh, Elsy, where are the glasses?"

Beside her, Elise simply shrugged as she realized she'd forgotten glassware. "Whoops."

"That's okay we don't need glasses," Anna remarked as she grabbed the second bottle of wine by the neck and handed it off to Elise. "Here, now we can each have one."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Elise questioned, giving a thoughtful glance at the bottle in Anna's hand. "I thought you said no more than one bottle, after last time and all?"

"Then why did you bring two?" Anna replied with a roll of her eyes.

Elise shrugged again. "You didn't tell me what kind you wanted. So I brought of the bottles that were there, so you could choose which one you wanted," she explained.

Anna remained silent as her eyes darted from one bottle of wine to the other. Finally, she made up her mind and snatched up the bottle Elise had been holding and shoved the other into Elise's now empty hands. "I want this kind," she declared. "Oh, and I got your nightgown like promised, it's over there. I also got the books, let me go get them."

Anna moved from her bed to a small table that held the stack of books in question, scooping them up in her arms with her bottle of wine included, and brought them back to the bed, plopping them down on the edge. In the meantime Elise had waltzed over to the changing screen and dissolved her current icy attire, opting to change into a silken nightgown. It wasn't often that Elise voluntarily wore real clothing, but this nightgown had been a gift from Anna for her birthday. She had told Elise she got it for her so that she could get used to wearing real clothes. She wouldn't have done something like this if it wasn't for Anna's insistence. It was little things like that which definitely made a difference.

Elise emerged from behind the screen to find Anna jumping on the bed and removing the cork from her bottle. She had already taken her first gulp by the time Elise reached the bed.

"You ready to get this night started, Anna?" Elise asked with a broad smirk as she grabbed her own bottle and popped the cork. Anna's only response was shoving a wad of chocolate in her mouth.

Tonight was "girl's night out", as Anna called it, it was a bi-weekly event in which she and Anna would spend the night playing games, reading trashy novels, and gossiping as long as they could hold out. It was never a single night event though. In the first few times they did it, they stayed up so late that they both had to sleep into a significant portion of the next day. It wasn't long until Anna and Elise got the idea of including copious amounts of alcohol and sweets into the equation.

So now, "girls night out" included playing games, reading trashy novels, and gossiping while stuffing their faces with enough chocolates, wine, and other sweets until they would pass out. They didn't last most of the night anymore after that new rule was added, consequently the next day was always spent recovering from a terrible hangover.

Of course, it wasn't just an Elise and Anna thing. Elsa was invited and even participated in the first few nights. But eventually her work caught up to her and she had to cancel, choosing to stay up late by working instead. Elise and Anna continued to invite her out of politeness but eventually just stopped bothering to invite her altogether. That was also around the same time they started including the sugar binges.

Elise enjoyed these bonding moments and had been looking forward to tonight, to loosen up after an especially tough day and week. The night before she tried going all the way with Elsa again. Elsa, of course, put a stop to it and the mood died there, just like all the other times. Upon remembering that she just wanted to drink and eat her emotions away.

_And what better way to do it with my best friend too? My very pretty best friend..._

Elise was a little worried though. A whole bottle of wine each was a lot. Elise clearly remembered Anna not two weeks ago crying about how they had to set a limit of one bottle between the two of them as she puked into a bucket with Elsa holding back her pigtails. Elsa scolded them too and ordered the castle staff to not supply the two sisters the next time. As a result, Elise had to go grab some from Anna's special stash in the kitchens.

She shook her head. No, there shouldn't be a problem. If Anna thought they could handle it, who was she to argue. Besides, she felt like crap and the sweets and wine helped, well, the sweets and wine with Anna helped. Well, maybe it was mostly being with Anna that helped. Yes, definitely Anna, she thought as she watched her sister settle on the mattress. She took a small sip of wine, but there was already heat warming her cheeks.

Anna caught Elise looking at her and smiled, patting the seat next to her, "C'mon, sit next to me." Elise didn't have to be told twice. She took another, bigger, swig of her bottle and climbed into the bed next to Anna, planning on making sure she was pressed up against her for maximum comfiness. Her breathing hitched as she made first contact, waiting to gauge Anna's reaction before continuing. But Anna made no reaction so Elise took it as a cue to move in closer until their bodies were pressed snuggly up against one another. This time Anna did react, but in the manner Elise had hoped, by snuggling up even more in Elise's direction.

"Okay, let's see, which one should we read first..." Anna mused as she rummaged blindly through the small pile of books. They both closed their eyes so they could choose at random. Anna hadn't even bothered looking at them at the library, she just grabbed a random selection as was customary. It made things interesting. "Oh, this one feels like it'd be a good one!" she declared.

Elise's initial excitement for the night was cut short as they opened their eyes and caught sight of the title of the book in front of them. It was titled _Fanny Hill_. Elise and Anna both turned beat red instantly. They had heard of this novel, but never once did either of them think there had been a copy sitting in their own library. This novel was the cream of the crop of erotica, and rightly banned in most places. Elise, upon remembering some of the content included in this novel and her own sexuality, suddenly felt self-conscious of her close proximity to Anna and felt like she should move away out of respect for Anna's personal space. But she stayed put anyway.

"Well," Anna started, breaking the awkward silence. "This is going to be certainly interesting. Isn't this the one where she sleeps with other women?"

Elise could only nod in silence. It was indeed the one. Elise could feel the awkwardness already...no, everything was okay, they were going to have fun, stuff their faces with chocolate, and drink. There wasn't going to be any awkward tension from reading a very erotic book that included sapphic scenes and they weren't going to have a problem with drinking. Elise took another swig of bottle, they were just relieving stress after all. She was with Anna and everything was going to be fine.

Not once did it cross Elise's mind that she had thought the same thing about "it was just relieving stress" some four months ago.

* * *

Meanwhile, it was also Elsa's night to stay up late. However, she wasn't planning on having fun like her two sisters were. Elsa had a lot of work to catch up on, so many reports to go over. She was probably going to stay up most of the night, which wasn't a big deal as she didn't expect much from Elise and Anna tomorrow anyway. She didn't expect her order to the castle staff for withholding their drinking would stop those two from having their fun, but she at least hoped they didn't overdo it again. Elsa didn't want to have to watch her little sister puke her guts out a second time.

Elsa shuddered at the mere thought of it. She couldn't understand why those two did that. What was the point? Never mind Anna, why would Elise put herself through that? She couldn't understand it. But then again, Elsa was having a lot of trouble understanding Elise recently.

Things weren't like they were when Elsa and Elise started this affair, they were different now. Sure on the outside things looked fine, but on the inside Elsa couldn't help but think she and Elise were drifting apart.

There were several things that gave Elsa this impression. The first reason and most obvious, was that they were spending less time together, though that was partially her own fault, and as a result Elise was spending a great deal of her time with Anna as of late, almost more than with Elsa. Now Elsa wasn't the jealous type nor would she ever be jealous of her Anna, but it was a little dishearten comparing the then, when Elsa and Elise tried to spend every waking minute together, to the now.

But Elsa was also thrilled that Elise and Anna were getting along and bonding so well. She was disappointed she had missed out on so much of it, but kept telling herself that things would be different after the wedding. Only then would Elsa have the time to spend with her sisters. But as Elsa watched from the sidelines, she couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of jealousy. No, maybe not jealous, but darn close. There were some things that just stuck out to Elsa though. For example, Anna had assumed Elsa wouldn't mind when she stopped asking her to go with her and Elise on their spontaneous escapades. Elsa had minded right away though. She couldn't help denying every invitation, she had a job to do, but that didn't mean it wasn't special just to be asked. Elsa had cried herself to sleep the night that she had come to the realization that Anna wasn't going to come ask her out anymore. Elsa suspected Elise was the reason for her exclusion since Anna probably preferred her outings with Elise over herself.

The second reason was because Elise had become, for a better lack of terms, an emotional stone wall. In the beginning, there had been a free flow of information between the two of them. Elsa didn't know how to describe it, maybe a twin's connection, but she loved how she could just spill out her emotions to someone who understood her so well and have the other do the same. Well, sort of spill out. There were still many things she wasn't sure how to express herself, even to Elise and especially not to Anna, but Elsa felt like she making progress and finally found someone who understood her. She could tell the same thing afflicted Elise, but they were both making progress.

Then it sort of just stopped. Not at once, but Elise slowly stopped reciprocating her own openness to Elsa. Usually she wouldn't hold back, letting her mind open up to Elsa when they laid together in each other's arms while the moonlight reflected off the snow outside or while they sat together in the study going over paperwork. Those moments had been so special to Elsa. But they became few and far between as of recent. Not long after Elise started spending more time with Anna in fact. Of course, Elsa knew the reason why, Elise just felt more comfortable with Anna, it was the type of person Anna was.

_It's no wonder, if I was Elise, Anna would be my preferred choice too. She's far less complicated than me._

It never occurred to Elsa that she herself had started closing herself off to Elise at the same time that Elise started closing herself off to Elsa.

The final reason was Anna herself. Elsa could see it every time Elise and Anna interacted clear as day. Elise liked Anna more, Elsa speculated or at least her work-addled mind did. She had noticed too, Elise always appeared happy with Anna, always. Around Elsa, Elise more and more appeared uncomfortable or uneasy. Even their passionate sessions in bed were beginning to feel different. They were starting to feel forced and it almost felt to Elsa like Elise was just doing it to test her bounds. It felt to Elsa like she herself was allowing it just to escape to a better time in their relationship. It usually worked, it made Elsa feel like, even for a brief amount of time, that everything was fine. Sometimes Elsa felt like giving in to Elise's sexual prowess, just to see if it offered the ultimate escape back to what things were. Her belief of chastity were all too strong though.

Elsa didn't take any of these observations well. Perhaps she was wrong about love after all. Perhaps she and Elise weren't meant to be together. Elsa really didn't know what any of this meant, not that she knew anything about relationships in the first place. She speculated day and night though, regardless. _Maybe this was reality of relationships and the first few "perfect" months was just a honeymoon period. Maybe there was a reason incestuous relationships were looked down upon and we should have listened._ She could never figure it out, but did came to one conclusion rather quickly. Elsa absolutely knew nothing about true love. Her infamous words to Anna at her coronation, 'what do you know about true love?' were coming back to bite her in the ass.

So Elsa continued to speculate and wonder, even though she knew doing such things on a topic such as this was a dangerous combination. But she didn't know what else to do, who to turn to, how to handle a thing that couldn't be dealt with via political maneuvering or the authority of the crown. So what Elsa ultimately did, even though it was mostly involuntarily, was begin to shut herself out from Elise. Elsa was too caught up in worry or work to notice that she was.

If she hadn't been too busy with work or caught up in her own worries Elsa might have realized that by shutting herself out, she was only driving them further apart.

* * *

Elise was supposed to be enjoying herself. The drink was supposed to be helping her. But neither was happening and the current activity was playing out exactly as Elise feared. There had been nothing but tension ever since Anna had started reading and it had gotten so bad that Elise felt like she was suffocating in the room. Every scene made Elise cringe, not just because of her close proximity to Anna, but because it made her for some reason think of her current relationship with Elsa. That had probably been the alcohol's doing. It wasn't just the awkward content that was doing her in though, but every chapter, sentence, even every word that was spoken was further breaking her down. It was as if she had reached her boiling point and the immediate situation was in the process of sending her over edge. The question was how far Elise would fall.

To Elise's comfort, Anna had not made any attempts to pull away from her, even during the most obscene scenes, or show reaction to Elise's own discomfort. Perhaps Anna herself was too drunk to notice Elise's current state of collapse. Or maybe it was Elise who was failing to take notice of Anna's reactions.

It didn't take long for Elise to simply just stop listening altogether. Instead, every thought, opinion, speculation, and fear that she had ever dealt with concerning her and Elsa came back to her at once, swirling through her mind like an out of control blizzard. Elise tried to drink the maelstrom away, quickly finishing her bottle, not once taking notice to Anna's side glances. It wasn't working.

And just like that, Elise collapsed. She had started crying softly out of the blue. Anna wasted no time putting the book down and comforting her older sister, but it took Elise a few moments to realize what was happening. When she finally came back to her senses, Elise realized she was sitting on Anna's bed, in Anna's room, with Anna kneeling in front of her. They were face to face and Anna gently held Elise's head in her palms while her thumbs gently brushed away tears. Anna was trying to speak to her, but Elise never heard what she was saying as she made her move. She wasn't in the right state of mind.

Elise didn't know what compelled her to quickly lean in and kiss Anna on the lips, but she was glad she had finally done it. It was as if a sudden relief washed over her as she pulled away and saw Anna's beautiful, but puzzled face. Elise's heart skipped a beat as she waited for some kind of reaction, but there was none. So she went back, this time deepening the kiss.

Anna didn't resist. In fact, she hastily accepted Elise's invasive tongue and even leaned into Elise. Relief flooded over Elise and it felt like for the first time in months that she could feel relaxed. She imagined herself sitting in the snow in the middle of a forest on a cloudless, moonlit night where not a sound existed save for the rustling of branches from a light breeze. Still though, as great as it felt, something just didn't feel right...

Anna's hand found the back of Elise's head and mixed in with her hair. Elise moaned into Anna as she felt spurred on, pushing the younger girl down onto the bed and onto her back. Anna continued applying pressure to Elise's head while gently messaging her scalp while her other hand slowly drew circles on Elise's back. Elise was in bliss, but still something felt off...

With her one hand preoccupied on the back Anna's neck, Elise sent her other one down to the hem of Anna's nightgown. As she ran her hand back up Anna's smooth thigh, she felt Anna buck her hips upward, eager at her touch. Elise's hand reached the dampness of Anna's inner thigh to find she wasn't wearing anything underneath. She stopped for another moment, but the moan coming from beneath her told her she should continue.

Elise's fingers found the wet cunt of her younger sister and without a second thought, took the plunge over the edge.

* * *

Elsa let out a sigh of relief as she finished her project at hand. It was the biggest project of the day, another provision to deal with her unusual marriage to Elise. Now she was only left with a few minor reports and she could finally call it a night.

Elsa felt like all she was doing was wedding planning lately. And not in the good way. There was a lot of things that had to be done so that Elsa could make her twin her queen. So many laws to be changed, so many fools to appease, so many obstacles to circumvent. Actually, marriage planning accounted for most of her workload, which was why Elsa had been so overworked as of late. Elsa had underestimated how difficult this was going to be. It wasn't impossible, but Elsa should have given herself more time. They were fools for trying to plan the wedding for the upcoming July. They should have waited longer and the relationship conflict going on between the two twins only reinforced that point. If they waited, Elsa would have more time to work things out with Elise, instead of rushing around.

Of course, with such a great work load, Elsa needed someone to assist her, but there was no one. Coincidentally, it was the marriage preparations which kept Elise from helping Elsa in the first place. Some of the more reasonable grumblings from the nobles included, among the many other complaints and accusations, allowing an uneducated woman on the throne. Elsa saw their point as valid and found an easy opportunity to rectify it. Educate Elise as much as possible before she gets crowned queen. So Elsa sent Elise off to lessons, leaving her alone to bear the whole workload. She couldn't go to Anna for help either, for she was also tied up in lessons, a result of her punishment from the incident with the _USS Missouri_. Elsa had inadvertently sent all her help away.

Elsa hadn't gone to Elise for her opinion over her involvement in settling the complaints of an uneducated queen though. Elsa had simply told her to do so, assuming she knew best for Elise. Elsa was starting to regret that decision, but had not yet realized that around the same time, their relationship had started going south. She never had the time or opportunity to fit the pieces together.

Unfortunately, Elsa would never have time to fit the pieces together until it was too late. Unbeknownst to Elsa, she had already lost that chance while she was working.

As Elsa grabbed the first report on the pile, the door to her study burst open. Elsa barely had time to register as her little sister stormed into the room, tears running down her cheeks with her hand clenched to her chest. Her twin, followed closely behind, but clearly shying back. Tears were also falling down her face, but there was something else there. Fear.

Elsa was up out of her seat in a flash. "A-Anna, Elise, what's goin–"

"Tell her," Anna interrupted before Elsa could even finish her question. Elsa realized Anna hadn't been talking to her. Behind her, Elise quickly shook her head and shied back even more.

"Tell her!" Anna demanded, raising her voice significantly, when Elise didn't speak up. Despite her confused thought process, something urged Elsa to create a breeze to shut the study door. Elise in the meantime had wrapped her arms around her body and burst into a fit of sobbing while muttering what sounded like, 'sorry'.

"Anna, tell me what's going on now," Elsa ordered as she came out from behind the desk.

Anna took a deep breath before she stole a quick glance at the broken wreck behind her. "She kissed me."

"Wait, what?" Elsa asked. She hadn't–no, hoped she hadn't–heard Anna correctly.

"She kissed me, Elsa," Anna replied. Behind her Elise's sobbing grew louder. "And then do you know what she did?"

Elsa shook her head, still not quite believing what she was being told. She felt nothing so far.

"She tried to fuck me," Anna said bluntly. "With her fingers."

Suddenly, the situation hit her like a ton of bricks. Her eyes widened and she felt her hand grab the desk behind her for support as her legs started to give out. Elsa was oblivious to the ice now racing across the surface of the desk and floor, to Anna breaking out into her own fit of sobbing, or to Elise desperately trying to apologize.

 _She violated my baby sister...my Anna. She...she cheated on me. She cheated on me with Anna._ _With my baby sister. Oh my God, I think I'm going to be sick._

Elsa gagged at the thought, feeling the bile rise in her throat, but she managed to fight it down.

Elsa couldn't think, she was becoming overwhelmed. Her instinct to protect her beloved little sister fought with the love she felt for Elise, a love that had just been betrayed.

Elsa started hyperventilating. _I do-don't know w-what t-to do._ Both girls were now trying to speak to her directly, at the same time, further confusing her. Elsa's eyes darted from one to the other, unaware that she now had a line of mascara running down her cheeks. Her hand was grasping the front of her dress, the fabric frozen solid as spike of ice rose from the position of her hand on the desk behind her.

A sob escaped her mouth, the first sound she had made yet, that she quickly tried covered with her mouth. At the same time, Elsa's disoriented mind came to a decision. She took one last look at Anna who instantly recognized what that look meant.

"No, wait!" Anna barely had time to yell before Elsa did the only thing that she thought she could do. She fled.

Halfway down the hallway, as Elsa considered where she would flee too this time–perhaps a place a little farther than the North Mountain–something snapped within her mind. She couldn't tell if it was an urge, a hunch, an instinct, or just a feeling, but whatever it was, it caused her to stop dead in her tracks.

* * *

Elise and Anna stood in momentary silence as they watched the Queen flee from the room, an icy trail marking her path.

Elise's fleeting moment of relief in Anna's bedroom had only lasted a few minutes. Elise hadn't been inside Anna a few seconds before she herself came to her senses, pulled away, smacked Elise across the face, and preceded to flip out on her. It only took a few more seconds for Elise to realize her whole world was coming crashing down. But for whatever reason, Anna did not seem as upset as Elise expected from her in this worst case scenario. She was mostly just demanding that Elise go confess to Elsa right away as if she had been more concerned with what Elise had done to Elsa than what Elise had just physically done to her.

When Elise was too shocked to move on her own, Anna did it for her. She stormed out the room, making it clear she was going to inform on Elise to Elsa. Elise was spurred into action, tagging along behind Anna and desperately pleading to her not to tell. Anna refused to listen, but Elise knew she was right.

"Look what you've done," Anna angrily said, scowling at her and finally turning away from the door. "Now we have to go get her. Let's go, before she gets too far."

"Wait, I can't do this," Elise pleaded. She was too overwhelmed to think, she had no idea how to handle any of this.

"No, you caused this mess, you're going to fix it," Anna replied firmly.

"But I don't know how. Do you?"

Anna gave her a long look. "No," she finally said. "I have no idea, but I can't live with Elsa...either of you, being miserable and I can't let her get away. Not again. So I'm going to help, but it's you and her that need to work this out. No one else can. Just you and her, because I know there's more to this than meets the eye. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Elise nodded her head, even though she had barely processed what Anna had said.

"Now come on, the faster we can find her, the faster this will be over," Anna said as she started for the door.

Elise hesitated. Her fogged brain couldn't process things fast enough, but one thing Elise was positive of-she was sure this wasn't going to be over anytime soon or as easily as Anna made it sound. Elsa had proved a lot of Elise's assumptions wrong in the past, but this was such a grievous offense that Elise doubted Elsa would ever forgive her.

For whatever reason though, Elise willed her feet to move forward. Perhaps it was seeing Anna, standing there at the door with her hand on the door knob, curiously watching her through glistening eyes that gave Elise a little twinge of hope that things would turn up alright in the end. Or perhaps that deep down, Elise truly believed things would turn out alright herself. At the moment it didn't matter why because Elise was actually making the first steps to fixing this.

Anna smiled as Elise walked up to her. "Let's go," she whispered as she opened the door.

Elise and Anna stepped out of the room and stopped dead in their tracks. Standing in front of them was Elsa. It was Elsa for sure, but this was NOT the same Elsa that had fled this room just a few minutes earlier. She was not even half as disheveled as she looked when she had fled. Her dress was unwrinkled and though she still had some makeup running down her cheeks, Elise and Anna watched as the last evidence of it lifted off her face with the flash frozen moisture from her tears and disappeared into a puff of steam.

Elise gulped. She had never seen Elsa do that before.

"E-Elsa what are you doing here?" Anna wondered out loud. In retrospect, it was a rather stupid question.

Elsa took it exactly that way as she raised her eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean, little sister? Where else would I be?" Elsa asked back. Elise could hear Anna swallow. She was worried and judging by the tone Elsa was using, Elise knew she should be worried too.

"I-I mean...I mean we thought you ran away..." Anna trailed off.

Elsa smiled...menacingly. "I had a sudden epiphany that I need to stop running from my problems and face them head on. Now get back in my study. _NOW_!" Elsa commanded.

Elise and Anna both jumped in shock as Elsa raised her voice to a level that neither Elise nor Anna had ever heard directed at themselves. They made no objection as they hurried back into the room, Elsa strolling in behind them. The door slammed shut as she crossed into the threshold. Elsa continued walking to her desk, using her finger to usher the two girls closer once she reached in front of it. Elise and Anna timidly approached.

At this moment, Elise and Anna looked more like subordinates awaiting a reprimand rather than two princess waiting to speak to their sister. Elise was standing in front of Elsa as she stared back. Elsa was looking into her eyes, but Elise refused to meet them, instead choosing to watch the floor. Several minutes of silence passed. Elsa continued to stare, Anna continued to watch them both with apprehension, and Elise couldn't help but silently cry. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Elsa took a deep breath, causing Elise to finally look up.

Elsa didn't speak. With a swift move of her hand, she slapped Elise across the face. Not once, but three times. Hard too, it made Anna's earlier slap seem like just an attempt to get Elise out of her trance which it probably was. This was not, it was a lot more. It probably would have continued if Anna hadn't yelled at her to stop, but Elise's face already burned like fire. There was no point crying over it though, Elise knew she deserved it.

As if nothing happened, Elsa casually walked behind her desk and dropped down into her seat.

"Speak," she ordered to Anna. "Tell me exactly what happened. Everything."

So Anna started talking, going over every detail she could, as if she hadn't even taken a drink all night, which made no sense because Elise swore she saw Anna drink at least half her bottle. Elise herself was constantly reminded of her condition by the slight swaying of the room, but Anna seemed too composed even for half a bottle. Elsa sat silently as she listened, making no reaction to the story, not even when Anna got to the part when Elise violated her. She didn't glance over at Elise once. Elise stood in silence herself, her stomach felt like it had been in a free fall the moment Anna started talking. The slight swaying of the room didn't help either.

"I see," Elsa finally said when Anna concluded her story. She finally acknowledged Elise as well. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Elise was speechless. She tried forming words, but it all come out in unintelligible muttering. Even if she could form words, she didn't even know what to say. She just...didn't know where to begin.

Elsa was losing her patience as Elise figured as she watched her twin's fists tighten. "Get on with it already," Elsa demanded.

What happened next surprised everyone in the room, even the person who spoke it.

"You're not blameless in all this, you know that, right?" Anna blurted out to Elsa, quickly covering her mouth with her as she regretted speaking up.

Elsa jumped out of her chair as if ready to pounce on Anna. "What the f-"

"Please, don't yell at her," Elise interrupted, finally finding her words in order to speak up in defense of Anna, who had spoken up in defense of her. Elsa listened and lowered herself back into her seat. At the same time, Elise's jumbled brain was starting to form a coherent argument. "Why don't you love me anymore, Elsa?" she asked as a fresh flow of tears started up.

Elsa almost broke character, her stoic, regal demeanor nearly collapsed. "What? That's not true...I never stopped loving you," Elsa argued.

"It doesn't seem that way," Elise countered. The words were starting to flow out with ease now. "In bed and..."

"Is this what this is about? Sex?" Elsa cut off. "What is it with you and sex, why does everything have to be about sex with you?"

"It's not about the sex, Elsa," Anna answered to Elsa and Elise's surprise. All eyes turned to her now as she continued. "It's about the love, the intimate contact. She craves it because she's been alone for so long. I know how she feels sometimes, I went through a similar thing. The sex, the pleasure...it's a form of relief, a way to fill that empty spot in your life. Elise...I don't think Elise ever had anything to fill in that emptiness with except for pleasure. She has us now, but old habits die hard. You know that. And furthermore, sex isn't just a taboo to avoid with strict rules to follow. For you it may be, but Elise had a different upbringing than you. To other people, and her especially, it's a way for relief and a way to show ones ultimate love to another."

Elise was awestruck by the accuracy of what Anna had just said. She couldn't have put it in words better herself. But she could add onto it. "It's true, everything she said," Elise added. "Anna is exactly right."

Elsa averted her eyes to the desk in front of her, it was the first time she wasn't staring either of the two down. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that, but why didn't you say anything before?" she whispered.

"I-I didn't know how. I don't know how to talk to people, and you're so complicated to begin with, no offense. And then you just started shutting me out. I had no idea why, but I had no idea how to approach you," Elise explained. She was done crying for now, instead distracting herself by wringing her hands together nervously.

Elise felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Anna, giving her a smile of assurance. She mouthed 'good job' to Elise and it filled Elise with the feeling of...pride? Anna had always told her to talk to Elsa and she had finally done it. Just too late, unfortunately.

Elsa hadn't missed the exchange. "I was shutting you out, because of this," she implied, gesturing to her two sisters that stood in front of her.

"What does that mean?" Anna questioned.

"Do you think I was blind to what was going on? I barely suspected it before, but now I can see what's going on. You love Anna. It all makes sense now, you spend more time with her than me and it's even starting to feel like you find it more comfortable around her than me. Am I not wrong?" Elsa demanded.

Elise was starting to become heated over Elsa's accusations, which was surprising because Elise herself had been starting to ask herself if she loved Anna. Putting it into practice though, maybe Elise really didn't love Anna like that after all. "Y-yes, but not like you think," Elise confided. "I was more comfortable around Anna, because she understood me and I could understand her a lot easier. You were closing yourself off and I just couldn't deal with it. Anna's good with people, she was good with me. She was just easier to go to. And don't get me started on spending time together. That's your fault, I would love to spend more time you."

"What do you mean by that?" Elsa asked. By now, neither Elsa nor Elise had noticed that Anna had detached herself from the conversation as she squinted her eyes in concentration.

"I never have time to spend with you because you're always working. I always have time to spend with Anna because _you_ put me in these pointless lessons. I didn't want this. That's your doing," Elise answered.

"It's for your own good though, Elise."

"Oh, is it? Have you ever asked me if it was?" Elise questioned.

"N-no, but-"

"My point exactly," Elise interrupted. "You think you know what's best for other people, but you don't because you just assume you know what's best."

"I'm doing this for you, so we can get married. It's for the best..." Elsa shut her mouth as she quickly realized her mistake.

Elise too full advantage of Elsa's slip up. "Well, it sure it worked out well didn't it? Look around you Els, look how well it turned out!" Elise mocked.

"First of all, I am your queen, do not speak to me like that!" Elsa threatened. "Second of all, it was you who chose to violate my baby sister and none of this justifies that at all. I mean, God, she's your baby sister too. Explain that?"

The anger that had been rising like a fire between the two suddenly subsided as Elsa brought up the sensitive subject. "I-I can't," Elise answered as she rubbed the back of her head. "I really can't explain it, I just find her attractive." Elise didn't dare look over at Anna in that moment. If she had, she would have noticed Anna was lost in her own thoughts. "It's not like I find her attractive like you, it's just...I think she's attractive. Does that make any sense?"

"No," Elsa quickly and bluntly stated.

"Oh, come on Elsa, you're in love with your twin and so am I. Explain that why don't you?" Elise asked as the fire between the two reignited.

"I'm starting to question that actually," Elsa deadpanned.

Elise could hardly believe what she heard. She felt her heart fall into her stomach. That fire that had been reignited was extinguished. "No..." was all Elise could whisper.

"I'm sorry, Elise, but look what you've done," Elsa concluded. Elise didn't take notice to how painful it looked for Elsa to say that.

"Please no..." Elise whispered.

"So, let me get this straight," Anna suddenly cut in out of the blue, completely changing the direction of the mood that the conversation had been going in. "You send Elsy off to lessons because you assume you know what's best for her–and let's be serious Elsa, I love you, but you do that way too much. So anyway, Elsy starts spending time with me and you start working more and more. Eventually, Elsy is spending more time with me than you. You see this, and because you're too blinded by your work, get wary and start closing yourself off to Elise. Elsy, who doesn't know how to deal with people regardless, starts turning to me for support because she's not getting any from you. This makes you more wary, more closed off, and drives her further into my arms. Rinse and repeat. Meanwhile, Elise is looking to take your relationship to the next level, because she thinks that's how it's done, but you keep putting a stop to it because your morals on sex are a little more puritan. So now she thinks, even more, that you don't love her and meanwhiler, hey look, the same girl you're driving Elsy into the arms of is actually pretty damn sexually open just like Elsy. Did I miss something?"

Elise and Elsa stared at Anna, mouths agape. It was Elsa who spoke first. "Meanwhiler is not a word, Anna, but-" Elsa started to point out.

"Oh wait, I did forgot something," Anna interrupted, ready to restart her rant. "You're now also questioning why Elsy finds me attractive. The person who is in love with her _identical twin sister_ is questioning why someone else, who is also in love with her _identical twin sister_ , finds her other sister attractive. Do you realize, Els, how ridiculous you sound right now? Should I even mention the ice powers? The point is, we're not normal, deal with it." Suddenly, Anna's face became flushed and she found everything interesting to look at besides Elsa and Elise. "Besides, I may find Elise kind of cute too."

"Ugh, that's disgusting, Anna," Elsa blurted out. "She looks just like me, do you think I'm cute too?"

"Well duh, I think you're cute, but not like that because that's gross," Anna explained. She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, I can't explain it either. I'm not even that into girls anyway."

"Wait, 'not that into girls'? What does that mean, Anna?" Elsa asked. Elise didn't care what Anna had meant. What she cared about was what Anna had just rambled on about. It...made a lot of sense and summarized things quite well.

"Nothing, it means nothing, don't distract me. Listen, my point is this: you two are madly in love with each other, even now you still are so don't try to say you're questioning it because you're not. I want to see you both come out happy in the end and I know you can get through this. We can get through this together. You've heard what I had to say, you're both at fault here, but it's time to work it out and fix it," Anna declared. "Together."

"Anna, she violated you. I don't know if we can fix this," Elsa pointed out, causing Elise to cringe.

"You have to though, because it's your fault that it had it come to this. As for it actually happening, we were both drinking anyway," Anna reasoned causing Elsa to narrow her eyes, not out of anger, but questioning as Elise surmised. Why though, Elise wasn't sure. "We weren't in our right minds, Elsy especially, and even I have to accept some responsibility for allowing it to happen and for that I am deeply sorry. Now is the time to make a decision, Elsa. Are you going to forgive her and try to work things out or are you going to let the love of your life slip through your fingers?"

The room filled with silence as Elsa sat staring ahead. No one said a word, but Elise could feel her heart beating out of her chest in anticipation. Finally, Elsa spoke. "I need to think about this first."

"How long?" Elise asked. "I won't be able to sleep until I know what you decide, your majesty," Elise added on the last part as a sign of respect and remembering what Elsa had said earlier about 'talking to your queen.' There was also another reason though. Elise hoped it would make Elsa feel sorry for her. Besides, Elsa had been keeping herself composed like her queenly persona this entire time.

It had the desired effect as Elise watched Elsa cringe and purse her lips together. "That is...understandable. Please go to my room and wait for me there. I will be up in twenty minutes or so. When I come up I will have made a decision. You're both dismissed."

"Both of us, together? Alone?" Elise asked. She didn't want to make any wrong moves, not now. And any little thing she did now could be taken the wrong way.

"Yes, I trust you both. Now please go," Elsa answered.

That was a good sign, it meant that Elsa actually still trusted her. Elise bowed while providing a 'my queen' before heading to the exit. Anna followed suit. Elise opened the door and let the younger girl go out first and glanced back at Elsa one more time. Elsa was watching them leave. She looked not like Elsa, but like the Queen of Arendelle, save for the single tear that marred her regal persona.

They stared into each other's eyes for a good minute before Elsa turned away to something–probably something imaginary–on her desk. Elise left the room and closed the door behind her.

As they made their sullen walk up to Elsa's room, neither of them said a word to the other. It wasn't until they reached the door that Anna smiled and turned to Elise.

"I stood in front of this door for years without ever getting in," Anna whispered. "Now look, she's already letting us in before she even gets here. Do you what that tells me?"

Elise shook her head.

"It tells me that everything is going be alright."

Elise wished she had Anna's same optimism.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to muh beta readers, mig and road.
> 
> To my Guest Reviewers:
> 
> Guest: "Love it update soon x"
> 
> I'll try. I'm trying to put out more than every two weeks, but it's proving to be difficult.
> 
> Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your reviews.


	19. Engagement

Elsa stood in front of her own closed door for what felt like an eternity, though it had only been a few minutes. Although what awaited her on the other side was not what prevented her entry. She was ready to handle what lay ahead. It was only the night's events that had caused the young queen to take pause in order to clear her head. Quite frankly, this had been the biggest wake up call in Elsa's young life. Her coronation and the life changing events that followed paled in comparison despite the severity of that week. This night was different, it was a coming of age event. No longer would Elsa run away from her problems. No longer would she remain indecisive. No longer would Elsa fail to stand up for herself.

She had made her decision.

She grabbed the handle and swung the door open, startling the two teary-eyed girls huddled on her bed. Suddenly, looking at these two made Elsa feel many years their senior. Despite being the same age as one and only three and half years older than the other, they both appeared like two young girls ready to receive a scolding from their mother.

She pursed her lips at the thought. She was basically, for better intents and purposes, their mother in a strange sort of way. She was, after all, the head of the family.

Elsa strode into the room in her best regal manner. Not only was she their older sister, she was their queen and would remain that way until she was finished with these two. So far neither had spoken, but both stood up at attention upon her entering.

"Let's get started, shall we?" Elsa announced.

Both girls nodded. Anna's was swift and optimistic, but Elise's was the opposite—slow and uncertain. At least Elsa knew where they both stood, even though she anticipated that already.

Elsa's opened her mouth to speak and suddenly realized how thick the tension in the room was. Literally, because she could actually feel the cold radiating off of Elise. If the rapidly dropping temperature was anything to go on, the poor girl was having a full blown internalized panic attack.

_Odd that it took this long, maybe the anticipation finally got to her. She gets what she deserves._

Elsa instantly regretted her last thought considering what was about to happen, but pushed it aside. She wasn't going to back down. She had made her decision almost immediately after Elise and Anna left her alone in her study. What had taken her so long was figuring out the details. And a little detour stop along the way up here...

"I've come to a decision," Elsa started. Anna's resolve had already broken and she started showing signs of the chilling cold. Elsa caught the glimmer in Elise's eye that told her that she also had noticed Anna shivering in the cold and it made Elsa pause again. It suddenly dawned on Elsa that in her current predicament, Elise could do nothing to control her powers. At the moment, she probably thought no one loved her.

_It's best to move this along then._

"I have decided that I have made many mistakes in the past few months and messed up dearly," Elsa declared. _The temperature just dropped ten degrees, didn't it?_ The sound of cracking glass confirmed Elsa's suspicion. _Hurry it along, Elsa, or it's going to kill Anna._ "I have also realized, well, I've always known, that I am madly in love with my twin sister."

With that, the temperature suddenly started to climb. Anna and Elise's faces betrayed no emotion. Actually, Anna was too busy trying not to freeze to death to show emotion, Elsa corrected herself.

"And that is why we're going to work this out...together," Elsa added.

"Ha, s-see, w-what did I t-tell you, Elise. E-everything-g i-is going t-to b-be alright," Anna stammered as she struggled to control her shivering.

Elise was breathing heavily and Elsa could see the smile forcing its way onto her face as she took a few steps back and sat down onto the bed behind her. Only then did Elsa take noticed to how badly her legs were shaking. By the time Anna had followed and sat next to her while wrapping herself in a few downy blankets, Elise had started sniffling and crying tears. Tears of joy and relief that is. No one made any mention of the sudden cold spell and the incident slipped into the past where it belonged.

"That being said," Elsa started again as she moved to hover over her two lovable sisters. "I'm going to have to make some things clear. Lay down some ground rules so to speak." _Where do I even begin?_

"First and foremost, I have been unfair to you, my sweet, sweet Elise. I only now realize what I have denied you and what it means to you. I should have noticed that something was wrong and confronted it. We could have...if I would have known I would have worked something out so that your needs would have been met. Instead I failed you. But I do know now and that's all that matters," Elsa admitted.

Elise seemed to brighten at Elsa's admission. She feared Elise was going to get the wrong picture though, so she quickly swooped in to shut down any of Elise's expectations.

"Before you get your hopes up, let me make it clear that I said I _would_ have worked something out. You lost the right to compromise the moment you decided to fornicate with my sister. I expect you to remain faithful to me, as I will to you. Since you decided to choose not to I'm deciding to put my foot down on this issue. You can wait until wedding night now. No exceptions," Elsa declared rather harshly and spiteful.

Elise's composure fell, her optimism gone, but not completely broken. Anna opened her mouth to either protest or complain, but Elsa held up her hand to silence her before she could make a sound. "Let me finish speaking. You will only speak when I say so, is that clear, princess?" Elsa scolded. Anna quickly shut her mouth nodded her head. Elsa felt like her outburst was a little out of place as she had been trying to find the balance between her stoic regal persona and being Elise's fiancé and sister, however, Elsa felt like it was well deserved for the intended recipient.

"Now, moving on," Elsa continued, losing the edge in her voice, "there is an obvious communication issue between us that we are both very responsible for, me especially. In order to work this out, we have to talk to each other for now on no matter what. We cannot be afraid of going to each other for anything. We've been through so much already, but we're still so afraid of losing each other that it prevents us from communicating effectively. Well, it stops now, we can't let fear tear us apart anymore. I'll...I'll try my best to be as open as possible no matter how afraid I am. Will you do the same?"

Elise nodded with a smile.

"Good. Now I really have to thank you both for pointing out my obvious flaws tonight. You're right, I do think I know what's best for Elise and I was wrong for that. For now on, I'll go through you on any matter that involves you. I'll start with the lessons. Let the nobles be damned, I want you to come back and work with me. I-If that's what you want?" Elsa asked, her confidence suddenly, briefly slipping as the worst case scenario—Elise for some reason saying no—played out through her mind.

"All I ever wanted was you," Elise answered. _Awe, how sweet._

"Well good, because starting tomorrow, you and I are going to tackle this kingdom and all its problems together," Elsa declared with exhilaration.

"Well, maybe I should continue some lessons, as a compromise, right?" Elise suggested.

"Hmm, perhaps. We'll talk about it in the morning though or whenever we manage to get up," Elsa promised. It was already morning, the sun would be up in only a few short hours. It had been a long night.

_Time to switch attitudes again, unfortunately._

"Before we go to bed though, we have to talk about _this_ ," Elsa went on, indicating to Elise and Anna. "I don't know what this is between you two, but I want it to stop. I can't separate you two and I refuse to keep you from spending time together, but I want this, whatever you call it, to end. No more kissing, no more trying to have sex. Just...don't. I don't want anything to change between you though, as long you just remain sisters. Platonic sisters," Elsa quickly corrected herself.

"There is nothing between us," Elise pointed out. "I realize this now, I was just being a blinded fool. It won't happen again, I swear on my life."

"I would hope not because if it happens again then this marriage is over and I _will_ expel you from my Kingdom. You should consider yourself lucky, Elise, that I'm willing to forgive you for this though. If I didn't know Anna as well as I did, I would probably have thrown you in the dungeons, maybe even send you to the gallows. Regardless, I will never forget what you've done to her and quite frankly it makes me sick just thinking about it. It's disgusting, repulsive, but even more so it was such a disloyal act to me. Did you even stop and think..." Elsa quickly stopped, realizing she was about to go on a tangent that was no benefit to the current situation. Elsa knew she still wasn't completely over it and this outburst was proof. Only time would fix this now.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I can't stay angry at this, I love you both too much," Elsa admitted. _It's probably my fault anyway for making incest seem normal._ "It's just going to take me some time to get over it completely though."

"We're a weird bunch, aren't we?" Anna joked and Elsa had to smile at her attempt at humor.

"Yeah, we really are," Elsa whispered with agreement.

"So, now what?" Elise asked with a yawn.

"I think it's time for bed. When we wake, everything will be back to normal, we'll still be lovers, you and Anna will still be best friends, and we'll all still be sisters," Elsa answered.

Elise and Anna remained sitting in Elsa's bed, staring up at her, questioningly. In that moment, Elsa decided to finally turn off her queenly persona for the night. She slouched her shoulders and giggled when they still stared at her expectantly. "Bed, you know, the thing you sleep in. Go there," Elsa smiled. She moved closer to the bed, grabbing each of them with one hand each and gently pulled them upright.

"So, uh, should I sleep here or...?" Elise asked as she wrung her hands together nervously.

Elsa pursed her lips together as the night's events started really bombarding her again, now that she had a moment to relax her composure. Elsa was heartbroken still.

"Elsy, you broke my heart tonight. I think maybe you should sleep in your own room. For tonight at least," Elsa proposed.

"Oh, okay, that's fine." Elise agreed, not that she had a choice. She moved, with the intention of giving Elsa a hug, but Elsa held out her hand, stopping Elise in her tracks.

"No, I can't," Elsa explained. "Just, please go." Elsa, as much as she loved Elise, couldn't stand the thought of touching her right now, at least until she slept this off.

Elise didn't say a word, but she silently moved over to the nightstand, picking up the snow globe that Elsa had given her. It had been a birthday present, along with an entire wardrobe fit for a queen (even Elise would have to have some real clothes after all), that featured two small sculptures of Elsa and Elise playing in the snow entirely made out of unmelting ice. Coincidentally, Elise had also gotten Elsa a snow globe for their shared birthday, though this one featured all three of them, hypothetically playing together as children as if nothing had ever torn their childhood together apart. That snow globe sat on the opposite nightstand, on Elsa's side of the bed.

Elise cradled the snow globe to her chest and walked out of the room. "I love you," she whispered at the doorway, where she paused to make one last glance at Elsa.

"I love you, too," Elsa whispered back. She could feel her eyes starting to water.

"Are you going to need some company?" Anna asked, reminding Elsa that she was still here.

Elsa didn't answer, refused to even acknowledge Anna, as her blood started to boil. After a moment, Anna decided that the answer was no and decided to leave Elsa be. That was when Elsa struck. She marched over to the exiting girl, grabbing her and pinning her to the wall next to the door, producing a yelp from her.

"I checked your room," Elsa snarled. "There were two bottles in there. One was empty, but I could tell it was wine. The other one was half full. It was juice, Anna. You haven't even taken a drink of alcohol all night."

Anna looked at Elsa wide eyed. She opened her mouth to explain, but Elsa shut her up by slamming her back into the wall. "You weren't even drunk and you let her do that to you. You wanted her to do it, didn't you?" Elsa demanded.

"Okay, okay, I did, I'm sorry! I just wanted to feel what it was like. I'm so sorry, Elsa, I didn't mean to cause this," Anna confessed. She broke down and started crying. "W-when she stuck her fingers in me I-I panicked and freaked out. I realized what I did, b-but I didn't want to tell you the truth because I didn't want to upset you more. I'm sorry, Elsa. I swear though, I-I d-didn't plan it, I just had a bottle of juice set up because I didn't want to-to get sick again. Elise had no idea. I'm sorry, I just wanted to feel what it was like. I'm such an idiot, I know."

Elsa almost started feeling sorry for Anna, until she suddenly stopped crying and her eyes lit up in realization. "Wait," she started, still pinned to the wall in Elsa's clutch. "If you knew I wasn't drunk, why didn't you say anything? Why did you let Elsy take the blame?" And, just as Elsa's grip started to tighten, Anna figured it out. "Oh my God, Elsa. You're jealous. You're afraid she might actually like me more if she found out I wanted it and you lied to her, blamed her, and punished her just to keep things the way you wanted."

Elsa's vision went red while she gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes at the girl pinned in front of her. Elsa felt an animalistic instinct take over as she slammed an ice covered fist into the wall besides Anna's face, causing the young girl to flinch. "SHE'S MINE," Elsa snapped. "And if you ever try this again, I'll personally take you to the Southern Isles and marry you off to the first person who can get their dick hard. Do you understand me?"

Despite Elsa's uncharacteristically violent outburst, Anna merely smirked. "Jeeze, Els, I didn't know you has such a possessive side," Anna pointed out. _And to think Elise believes she's the evil one of the family_ , Anna almost said as well. Not that Anna minded if Elsa was extremely possessive of her love, it just came as a surprise to her.

Elsa calmed down quickly after that, releasing Anna and backing away as soon as she realized what she'd done. She felt horrible for threatening Anna, but at the same time, it felt good protecting what was hers. It was a conflicting sort of feeling.

Anna took notice of Elsa's inner conflict and offered her condolences. "Don't worry about it, Elsa. I deserved that. T-thanks for not killing me, I guess. I'm trying not to be a screw up, I really am. But all I do is screw up," Anna observed and lowered her head.

Elsa, despite her anger, moved over to Anna and raised her chin. Anna's redden eyes were starting to water again. "Oh Anna, I couldn't live without you or your screw ups. Besides, in a way, you forced us to fix our failing relationship and you indirectly showed me that that I need to stop running from my problems. Everything you've done has made us better off in the long run. You complete us," Elsa proclaimed. She planted a soft kiss on Anna's forehead.

"Now off to bed, before I change my mind and ship you off. Goodnight, Anna," Elsa said.

"Goodnight, Els."

"Oh, by the way," Anna said as she turned around at the door, "you're missing out."

Elsa looked at her Anna with a raised eyebrow.

Anna started smirking again. "Icy fingers plus that heat down there feels amazing." With that, Anna turned and started running away, giggling as she went.

In the same split second, Elsa had fired off a small blast of ice.

Elsa knew she had hit her mark from the "eeek" that followed several seconds later. Hopefully, a frostbitten butt would teach Anna her lesson.

Elsa climbed into bed, smiling at Anna's playfulness but somehow felt leftover emotions come back. Two hours of silent sobbing later, Elsa finally drifted off to sleep, just as the sun began to rise.

* * *

**_Stavanger, Arendelle_ **

Gustaf Lindburg departed the ship as soon as it had docked and headed for the tavern that he had been instructed to go to. Gustaf was a skilled and well-seasoned veteran of this activity, but that did nothing to stop the uneasiness he felt. Arendelle's secret police weren't considered the best for nothing.

Gustaf arrived at the tavern without being followed to the best of his knowledge. One could never be too sure after all. The place in question was a run of the mill tavern, not nice enough for people to care who fancied it or ask questions, but not shady enough to attract the attention of both the unlawful and the lawful alike.

Gustaf took a seat in one of the booths and waited. For two hours he waited and drank and ate without anyone taking any significant note of his presence. He blended in as a regular well. That is until two men stumbled into the tavern. Like Gustaf, these two blended in well to the clientele and no one took any real notice of them besides Gustaf himself. They may have blended in to the common eye, but to Gustaf's trained eye, they stood out like a sore thumb. Normally, Gustaf would have made this observation without the observed taking noticed, but this time he wanted them to.

He was relieved when the two men took the hint and causally took their seats in his booth without an exchange of words. Making contact was always such a dangerous part of this job.

General Gulbrand Holt and Foreign Minister Hallvard Hansen, both heavily disguised, were relieved when they had made contact with their person so easily and without incident.

"You weren't followed?" the man sitting at the table asked in a perfect local accent.

"No," the general responded. Short and to the point.

"Hmm, I'm surprised," the man remarked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Holt asked, slightly irritated.

"Nothing, just surprised the supposedly best in all of northern Europe are preoccupied chasing down rumors," the man explained.

"You can thank old Torbjørn for convincing half of Arendelle that their queen is fucking her own twin sister," Hansen pointed out. Treasury Minister Torbjørn Kristoffersen had been the mastermind behind spreading a nasty rumor among Arendelle's underground that Queen Elsa was in an incestuous relationship with her twin sister ever since their "marriage" had been proposed. The crown's secret police had been chasing down those rumors ever since, letting other activities such as this night slip through their fingertips.

That had been the first step in the old man's plans against the queen and her ludicrous marriage proposal until he had suddenly died two months ago. The old bastard was old enough as it was, so General Holt and Hansen weren't surprised when it happened and thus didn't suspect foul play. But they were suddenly left leaderless in their endeavor against Queen Elsa's idiotic proposal. It was only then, however, that the two realized the old man had been holding them back. General Holt and Minister Hansen swiftly moved to enact their own plan of action. A plan of action that would have been far too extreme for an old loyalist like Minister Kristoffersen.

"So," Holt started after a moment of silence. "Does King Oscar agree to our proposal?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

"His majesty is a strong supporter of the idea of nationalism. He believes that the Norwegian people should have the right to be a part of a single Norwegian nation," the man explained.

"So, what does that mean?" Hansen inquired further.

"So, it means, that I have been instructed to inform you that his majesty finds it necessary to support the cause of Norwegian nationalism."

"So, it's settled then?" Holt asked as the man slyly slipped him a package of documents under the table that Holt and Hansen would look through later.

"Not quite," the man said, "there are a few details I have been instructed to instill into your skulls. First of all, his majesty insists on making it clear the Sweden-Norway will not be directly involved in this campaign of yours. He will support and help raise nationalistic fever, but there will be no direct involvement. We do not want to risk a major conflict."

"Understood, we already under that impression anyway," Hansen crowed.

"And what about the army?" Holt asked.

The man was quick to answer. "His majesty will support the indirect raising and supplying of a Norwegian people's army in Oslo that will be used to secure Arendelle from loyalist forces. But only after you secure Bergen and the palace. There will be no direct intervention by his majesty's forces."

"That's part of the plan. We'll secure Bergen, your people will clean up the rest," Holt surmised.

"And then Norway will finally be reunited," Hansen concluded.

"Under the Swedish crown or do I need to remind you that Norway was ceded to the Swedish king under the terms of the Treaty of Kiel, a treaty that his majesty is very willing to enforce the terms of," the man pointed out, reminding the two officials of the history of their country.

The Kingdom of Arendelle had started off as the Duchy of Arendelle under the Danish crown in the Denmark-Norway of the past. The Duchy had been ruled by House Aren, an offshoot branch of the House of Glücksburg, out of the Aren Castle in Bergen, more commonly known as Arendelle. That was until the Treaty of Kiel in 1814 handed Norway over to the Swedish crown. Rather than submit to Swedish rule, the Duke of Arendelle, the current queen's grandfather, declared independence and crowned himself the new king of the Kingdom of Arendelle. Since then the Norwegian nation had been split between Queen Elsa's Kingdom of Arendelle and King Oscar's United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway.

"What difference does it make whether it's under the Swedish or Danish crown? The point is, Norway will finally be one nation again as it should be. Norway still maintains its autonomy regardless, unless you're suggesting King Oscar has other plans for this union once we reintegrate," Hansen insinuated.

"Not at all. Norway will continue to retain its autonomy, even after Arendelle is integrated back into Norway. His majesty has no intentions of breaking the Convention of Moss," the man made clear. "But before we conclude this meeting, I need a guarantee for the king that these unusual powers of your witch-queens will not be used to give them the upper hand. He prefers that Stockholm doesn't get trapped in an unending winter."

"Queen Elsa is far too timid to use her powers in anger for anything other than pure show. She fears them more than anything else and to be honest, she would probably hurt herself if she tried. Her sister on the other hand is another story," Hansen answered.

"While Princess Elise may be more dangerous, I personally doubt she is sane enough to be much of a threat," the general added. "Regardless, we have an idea that would neutralize them both."

The man rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, you're going to hold Princess Anna hostage? That may work for the queen, but according to our own assessments, the crown princess doesn't care much for the girl."

"Your assessments are out of date for the crown princess has been taking a real fancy to the princess as of late. Unusual, but as I said, that girl isn't sane in the head so not surprising in the least bit," Holt answered.

"I see. Well in that case, we'll have to take your word for it. It was pleasure doing business with you fine gentlemen this evening. We'll have our people get in touch with yours to work out the details in the near future," the man concluded. And just like that he got up and left, leaving Holt and Hansen alone except for the tab of course.

The two councilmen didn't linger long for they had spent the day prior going over official business, the cover for their little visit. By mornings light, they were both on a ship heading back to Arendelle, very tired from the lack of sleep, but not at all disappointed. The wheels of their plot were now set in motion and there would be no turning back. Not that either man, true patriots of the Norwegian people and defenders of liberalism, were willing to turn back now.

* * *

Three weeks later, Princess Anna crept into the room of her majesty, the queen, just as the sun began to rise. She tiptoed to the bed, trying her best not to awaken the sleeping monarch and the woman who was currently being spooned by the queen. Anna carefully climbed into the bed and even more carefully climbed over the two sleeping twins.

With one hand balancing her above the mattress and sleeping beauties, Anna used the other to pry open one of the eyelids of a sleeping Elsa. "Psss, Elsa, wake up," Anna whispered.

"Go back to bed, Anna," Elsa mumbled in a daze.

Anna wasn't ready to give up yet. "A ship pulled into port last night. The one carrying the special shipment we ordered for you know who," Anna revealed.

Elsa's eyes shot open.

"If we sneak out now, we can grab the shipment and comeback and cover the bed in candies before she even wakes up. It'll be like a peppermint wonderland when she does," Anna suggested.

Elsa was now wide awake. "Let's do it." Elsa slowly extracted herself from Elise, which only elicited a murmur from the still sleeping black-haired twin. Elsa and Anna managed to make it out of the room without waking Elise, despite Anna bumping into the nightstand that held two snow globes side by side on her way out.

Later that morning, Elise slowly stirred awake to the smell of...peppermint? Elise opened her eyes and found herself surrounded by peppermint-flavored candies of all shapes and kinds. In bed with her. Beside her sat her sister and lover, Anna and Elsa, stuffing their faces from a box of what Elise quickly assumed was peppermint flavored chocolates.

"What's the occasion?" Elise asked groggily.

"Noffin," the two girls said in unison through chocolate stuffed mouths. Regardless of the reasoning, it was obvious to Elise that this was meant to be gift for her, which made the scene in front of her of Elsa and Anna prematurely divulging into _Elise's gift_ that much more amusing.  Elsa then leaned over and gave Elise a good morning kiss. It tasted strongly like peppermint chocolate. Elise considered that she may have been dreaming, but she knew she wasn't. 

"I love you," Elise said as Elsa pulled away.

"I love you too," Elsa said back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta readers, rd and Mig.
> 
> Not a big wait this time, only a week. Unfortunately, don't expect chapter 20 to be out next week because I am only working on it slowly. This chapter only got out this fast because it was finished the day after I posted chapter 18.
> 
> To my Reviewers (from ff.net):
> 
> ForteEXEMaster: "The writing for this is very well done, it's just a shame it's a bit difficult to find due to the pairing.
> 
> Good luck with the other chapters"
> 
> I know, it sucks having to list it as OCxElsa, but I can't tag it as ElsaxElsa here and there is no earlyElsa character, though I think there should be. Thanks for thinking my writing is good because I think it's mediocre at best, but then again, I'm not supposed to think it's good. You should thank my beta readers though, because without them, you would probably think differently
> 
> Guest: "Well... it wasn't totally unexpected, but it still surprised me XD
> 
> I'll be waiting for the next update."
> 
> Well that's good, because I didn't want it to be unexpected.
> 
> CanITellUSmThin: "Fcwolfg- No, you are not the only one. xD I was kind of rooting for more, too."
> 
> Fcwolfg: "I was screaming at the Elsie Anna bit! Am I the only one that kinda wished for more? I can't wait to see what happens next! Update soon! ElsaXelsieXanna for the win!"
> 
> Sorry, no OT3s here. I was debating with myself and my beta readers as this arc approached how far I would go with this Elise and Anna thing, I call it Elisanna. It would have never have gone as far as OT3, but it ended up pretty in the middle of nothing happening and a lot happening.
> 
> RelsannaFarendell: "OH. MY. GOSH. OHMYGODOHMYGOD. I died and then i came back. TWICE."
> 
> Dying is bad for your health, don't do it too much.
> 
> Guest [3]: "I like where you're going with this story."
> 
> Shortchannel4 [6]: "This was a very good chapter."
> 
> Shortchannel4 [7]: "Interesting backstoy for Arendelle"
> 
> Shortchannel4 [8]: "Why am I such a fucking freak?"
> 
> Poor sisters. Can't wait to read more."
> 
> I'm glad you're enjoying this story so far. As for the background, I have actually did manage to fit it into the fic, this chapter in fact. Before I wasn't sure when I could fit it in, but I managed to find the perfect opportunity this chapter. Hope you catch up to the current chapter soon.
> 
> Btw, for the purpose of plot, the real King of Sweden-Norway at the time, Charles XIV John of Sweden, dies a few years early, allowing Oscar I to take the throne early. I fudged up history a bit I know, but ugh, I think I have the right to because ugh, it's magic, I don't have to explain shit. But just so you know, in real life King Oscar I was not the king in this year which is 1843.
> 
> Is anyone confused on the timeline? If so, let me know and I can provide one in the next A/N.
> 
> Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your reviews.


	20. Wedding Day

Elsa stood in front of the two large burial stones with watery eyes. The sky was overcast though the temperature was slightly warm. The somber setting of the sky and the trio's dark clothing was offset by the sparkling ice flowers held in Elsa's hand, the bright bouquet of wildflowers in Anna's, and the summer vegetation that surrounded the burial site.

"They would be so proud of you," Anna remarked from Elsa's side as she had done every time they had visited their parent's grave.

They had always been words of endearment, except for this time. This time, Elsa doubted the truth to these words.

"I'm not so sure…" Elsa managed to choke out before trailing off.

"They loved you, Elsa, and they would have continued loving you no matter what," Anna lamented.

Elsa remained silent.

"They just wanted what was best for you. They tried their best," Anna whispered.

 _I know._ Elsa didn't doubt that her parents didn't do what they thought was the best course of action regarding her powers. They had been wrong, but Elsa could not hold them at fault. "Is this how I am to repay them? Through sin and deceit?" Elsa whispered back. If they didn't consider Elsa a monster back then, they surely would consider her one now.

"I don't believe for a second they wouldn't have accepted your decision," Anna quickly answered. "They loved us and would have accepted you no matter what. If they would have gotten a chance to see what you really are, they wouldn't be afraid of your powers anymore. They would have undone their mistakes."

"It doesn't matter anyway. They're gone now and it's probably for the best," Elsa admitted. There was a sharp intake of breath from beside her. Anna always hated hearing the truth. _They never would have let this love happen anyway._

"I wish you wouldn't beat yourself up like this. You should be happy, your wedding is tomorrow," Anna mumbled with a part side glance, part glare in her sister's direction. "Besides," she continued more jokingly, "your bride is standing right behind you."

Standing behind the pair, Elise had only been half listening to the conversation in front of her as she idly twirled a bouquet of ice flowers of her own. While Elsa may have forgiven and loved her parents, Elise felt nothing for the people who had abandoned her when she was only a newborn. She still considered her adopted parents, the ones she had accidentally murdered so many years ago, more of her parents than the former King and Queen. She was only here for Elsa and Anna. And answers.

"There must have been a good reason for sending me away as a baby, huh?" Elise added after she had heard Anna make mention of her. It wasn't so much the abandoning that made Elise angry with her biological parents at times as much as it was listening to Elsa's guilt trip whenever they were brought up regarding Elsa and Elise's relationship.

Anna sighed in defeat, even she could tell these trips were becoming increasingly difficult.

Elsa shivered as the thought invaded her mind. She often thought about her parents intentions towards herself and she was safe in the assumption that they had had the best intentions for her even if it didn't work out in practice. However, Elsa refused to think about their intentions with Elise. She didn't want to think about it because she was afraid of discovering and accepting the truth. There were no good intentions with Elise that Elsa could conceive of. She was just not meant to be part of their family in her parent's eyes.

The horrible truth was, if their parents had not have died, Elsa, Anna, and Elise would never have been reunited. Everyone knew it, but maybe Elise was the only one who accepted it. It was becoming increasingly difficult for Elsa, especially with Elise around, to come back here without that truth plaguing Elsa's mind. She still loved her parents, she still forgave them, but she was slowly starting to feel no regret over losing them.

"Maybe we shouldn't have come today," Anna regretted.

"No," Elise spoke up, taking a step forward to join her twin's unoccupied side and regretting her earlier comment. "We had to come. They're your-our parents and tomorrow is a big day." She couldn't let Elsa and Anna both become depressed and cynical after all.

"You're right," Elsa agreed, smiling at her future wife's positive attitude. "Anna's right, too, we should be happy."

"Right."

After they had placed the flowers at the stones and shed a few tears, the two princesses turned to leave while the queen stayed put.

"Aren't you coming, Elsa?" Anna asked.

"You two go ahead. I want to talk to papa and mamma for a little bit. Alone, if you don't mind," Elsa answered.

Elise had also wanted to talk to her deceased parents in private that day, however, she didn't bring it up. Instead she found a safe spot to wait and, secretly watched her future wife while she waited. Surely she wouldn't have to wait too long.

Two hours of watching Elsa sitting next to the stones while equally sobbing and talking later, Elise finally got her chance. She spent the next half hour asking two giant slabs of stones why they had abandoned her as a baby. They didn't answer. They never answered.

* * *

It didn't take long for the citizens of Arendelle to realize that their crystal clear sky and beautiful day were not a work of nature. Rain had been moving in the day before, until during the night a sudden, brisk wind storm had pushed the front away leaving bright blue skies and warm weather. A gentle chilly breeze here and there reminded the citizens of their monarch's godly powers.

Elsa was staring at herself in the mirror as she sat at her vanity while the morning light filtered into her room and reflected off her silken platinum blonde head. The handmaidens would be in soon, the ceremony was just a few hours away now and Elsa's nerves were already practically shot. She had lost control of her stomach to the butterflies the moment she had woken up. So many things could go wrong today. So many things were going to change. Elsa was going to be married. She could hardly believe it.

The door opened up causing Elsa to tense up. Being surrounded by handmaidens poking and prodding at her to make her look perfect was just going to add to the stress. Elsa felt relieved when she realized there hadn't been a knock, meaning her visitor had to be Anna.

"Good morning, Els," Anna's voiced carried over from the opening of her room.

"Good morning, Anna," Elsa answered without turning from her reflection.

"It's the big day," she squealed. "Are you as excited as I am?"

"Yes," Elsa chuckled nervously. "And scared, nervous, tired, and quite frankly I am freaking out here."

"Huh, you don't seem to show it," Anna commented. That was a lie, Anna could see it on Elsa's face through the mirror. However, Anna hadn't meant physically. "You've learned to control yourself so well in the past year. I'm proud of you, Elsa."

_That's because I used it all last night, pushing that rain front out of the area._

But Anna didn't need to know that. Elsa hoped that no one had noticed the huge risk she had taken messing with the natural cycle so that they could have a nice, sunny summer day. If the ever observant Anna hadn't noticed, then no one else probably would have. Elsa was wrong on two things. One, almost everyone had noticed and two, most importantly, no one really cared. The citizens of Arenelle certainly didn't want to celebrate in the rain.

"I checked with Gerda, the handmaidens will be up in a few minutes, so I decided to come up and give you company until then. Be prepared, Gerda is already in tears," Anna warned as she stood behind her sister and started rubbing her shoulders.

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Oh, I hope she'll be able to keep herself composed during the ceremony."

"I doubt it," Anna giggled.

"She's a good woman," Elsa remarked, letting her body relax as Anna worked out the tension. "She cares so much for us, we're lucky to have her. She treats us like her own children you know."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Anna agreed.

Gerda, their head maid, was part of the select few individuals who knew about Elsa and Elise's true relationship. Though she discovered it by accident – by accidentally walking in on one of their intimate moments together – Gerda had accepted Elsa's behavior and vowed to protect their secret at all cost just like she had done in the past. Kai too had eventually discovered the relationship and vowed to protect their secret as well. Having Kai and Gerda involved proved very beneficial to their relationship and made keeping it a secret that much easier. The final person who knew about it was Kristoff, though he didn't discover it by accident. Elsa was beginning to suspect other castle and government staff knew or suspected it, but she wasn't worried as nothing had yet to be said or done about it.

"How's Kristoff?" Elsa asked out of curiosity.

"He's doing…good, by our standards. I don't think he's happy about it, but I made sure he's properly groomed and dressed. I just need a few final touches on myself and I'll be good to go," Anna answered.

Elsa took note of Anna through the mirror and true to her words, she was already dressed and about ready to go. She wore a simple white-silver silk dress embroidered with white crocuses. Simple, but Elsa knew there wasn't enough color or rosemaling for Anna's taste. It was a good thing she got a chance to change between the wedding and the coronation ceremony.

"It has been a crazy year, hasn't it, Anna?" Elsa asked as a matter-of-factually.

"Yes, it has been," Anna agreed as she continued to work the queen's tense muscles. "In the best of ways," she added.

"Yes, the best of ways," Elsa repeated, sounding withdrawn as her mind wandered. Anna's massage was having the desired effect.

"It has been long one though," Anna pointed out as she worked on Elsa's muscles.

"Huh? How do you figure?" Elsa wondered as she came out of her half daze to full attention to Anna's conversation.

"Well, just so much has happened in the past, you know?" Anna explained.

"Oh, yes, a lot has happened," Elsa agreed.

"It started off with you becoming Queen," Anna continued, "and not even a week later your powers were revealed, you accepted yourself for who you were, and we were reunited. I met the love of my life, Kristoff, and we gained Olaf. It was my first party, my first outing into the real world, my first lesson in reality. And for you…pfff, I don't know where to begin, but you get the idea."

Elsa nodded in acknowledgement and Anna continued her summary. "We were supposed to make up for thirteen lost years of our life after that. We didn't even get four months in before Elise came into our lives. Then our deficit jumped by twenty one more years to make up."

"We have a whole lifetime to make up those years," Elsa pointed out. "We will."

"Yes, we will. Now where was I?" Anna pondered. "Oh right, so Elise came back into our world, even though we didn't even know she existed until then. You ended up finding the love of your own life, as did Elise, and I ended up with yet another best friend along with a sister. We've made many mistakes that we survived through without missing the hard lessons that came with them. As a queen, you managed to get Arendelle through a very tough year while successfully conducting a diplomatic mission of the decade. And now, a year later, you're getting married. A controversial marriage that's only happening because you made it so through your own willpower," Anna concluded.

"Sounds like a fairly successful year," Elsa commented.

"There's no question about it. However, the real question is, what does next year have in store?" Anna wondered.

"I don't even want to think about it. I just want to get through this day," Elsa whined.

Just then there was a knock on the door, causing Anna to cease her kneading. Elsa whimpered at the loss of contact. Anna's small petite hands had worked wonders on Elsa's worn body and soul in the past few minutes. That and just being with Anna had mitigated some of Elsa's nervousness and returned some of her nerves. It was rejuvenating.

There was work to be done though. "I think that's Gerda and her army of handmaidens," Anna observed.

"Yes," Elsa mumbled, wishing it wasn't so.

"Shall I let them in for you?" Anna asked.

"If you would be a dear," Elsa answered even though she wanted the exact opposite.

Before answering the door, Anna wrapped her arms around Elsa from behind. "I'm going to let them get to work then, so I guess I won't get to talk to you again until after the ceremony," she whispered into Elsa's ear. "Just remember that everything is going to be different after today, but in a good way. There's no need to be nervous."

In the mirror, Elsa could see Anna's eyes begin to water, so she pulled her sister around her back and into her lap, never losing eye contact as she shifted from the reflection to the real thing.

"I'm so proud and happy for you, Elsa," Anna cried as the two sisters pressed their foreheads together.

"Shh, don't cry little sister," Elsa cooed to her while she stroked her cheek.

"I'm just so happy for you, Elsa. I can't help it," Anna whispered.

"I know, I know," Elsa assured her as she closed her eyes to enjoy the moment.

A minute passed before Anna shifted in Elsa's lap and worked her way up. "I better let Gerda in now," she sighed. "I'll see you soon," she added on her way out.

Elsa watched her depart in the mirror. The pride, elation, reassurance that Anna had shown for her was more than enough to counter Elsa's fear and nervousness.

* * *

Anna was ecstatic as she stood in one of the anterooms of the chapel. Everything was so perfect. Arendelle radiated with anticipation. The town was decorated with banners and flags; steamers crisscrossed the squares. The whole of Arendelle was bathed in the colors of yellow-gold, purple, and green. The chapel itself was lined with an assortment of crocuses, roses, lilies, and carnations of all different colors. And of course there was the snowflakes that joined Arendelle's crest and the current and future Queen's silhouettes among the decorations. Handmade snowflakes hung from streamers and posts all across town as a show of appreciation by the citizens of Arendelle to their beloved winter queen. The castle itself bore the livery of ice the Elsa had created the day prior, a similar design that the castle bore one year ago after the Great Thaw.

To say that the citizens of Arendelle were more passionate for this year's celebrations than last year's was an understatement. Queen Elsa was far more loved and popular now than she was for her own coronation a year ago. No one knew who Elsa and Anna were back then except for the rumors that their future queen was a recluse; possibly with some kind of chronic disease. But now she was a beloved ruler who was seen as kind, compassionate, young, and beautiful, though still somewhat a recluse in comparison to the princess. Princess Elise, by association and her frequent outings with Anna, was viewed with the same benevolence by the people as they did to Elsa. As such they were excited for her upcoming coronation.

On the other hand, today was a duel event celebration. The citizens of Arendelle would be celebrating the crowning of a new queen and the marriage of their current queen. That was the reality. Theoretically, there were no special celebrations planned for the wedding at all. As part of the ruse that the marriage was just a means to an end and that no relationship existed between Elsa and Elise, there had been no celebration or decorations planned. Just a simple ceremony with some invited guests. It was convenient that there would be decorations and celebrations for the coronation that followed. It made no difference either way except to the most prudent individuals and those who knew the real nature of the marriage. Those that suspected and disproved of the relationship saw it as a conniving attempt to trick the masses. The ones that knew about the real relationship treated the decorations and celebrations as solely for the wedding and the coronation as the afterthought.

The ceremony was to begin soon and Elise, who was currently in another anteroom, would be entering the chapel shortly. Which meant Elsa and Anna would be entering shortly after that. As Elsa's bridesmaid, Anna would be accompanying Elsa as she walked down the aisle. It had been decided long ago that Elise would fill the position as "groom" since Elsa preferred the traditional role of the woman. Elise was indifferent to the concept of tradition and happily volunteered for that position.

The only problem was the Elsa had yet to show up. Anna was beginning to worry. Chancellor Jakobsen, was beginning to fret too, Anna could tell, as he nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot. As their longtime family friend, Elsa had requested that Chancellor Jakobsen be the man that gave Elsa away since he had practically been like a second father to her and had known her since she was a newborn. Their father would want Chancellor Jakobsen to be the man to do it anyway.

"I'm sure she'll be here on time," the chancellor reassured.

Through the doors, Anna could hear music beginning to play which meant Elise was on the move.

_Shoot._

Anna was instantly regretting not staying by Elsa's side the entire morning. If she had stayed with her then…

Just then, the outer doors burst open and Queen Elsa came strolling into the room with Gerda and a few handmaidens in tow. The whole precession from the ceremonial guards to the young ring bearer – an orphaned commoner girl that Anna had convinced Elise and Elsa to give the opportunity of a lifetime by letting her be part of the ceremony – let out a collective sigh of relief.

Elsa looked beautiful in her off-white wedding gown with its ruffled off-the-shoulder sleeves and rather conservative embroidery. It was odd to see Elsa in something that revealed so much shoulder that wasn't made out of ice. However, this had been their mother's gown and nothing was going to stop Elsa from wearing what was in a way, a piece of their mother. Anna had just expected that she was going to be the one to wear it first.

Elsa ignored the precession as she entered, her eyes instantly finding Anna and smiling. The bride ignored everyone else as she took her place between Anna and the chancellor.

"I was worried," Anna whispered.

"Why?" Elsa wondered, feigning hurt.

"Well, you are cutting it rather close," Anna pointed out.

"Nonsense, I have plenty of time to spare…" Elsa trailed off just as their music started playing, indicating their time was up.

"May I, Elsa?" Jakobsen asked as he held out his arm to take Elsa's.

Elsa smiled at him and looped her arm with his. Before she even allowed the precession to move out, Elsa held out her free arm for Anna to take.

Anna hesitated at first because she was supposed to be at her place behind the bride as they walked down the aisle, not linked with her other arm.

_Oh well, tradition be damned._

Anna took Elsa's arm without a word spoken and the trio moved forward into the chapel hall.

Anna was elated as she stepped alongside her big sister into the crowded chapel. Despite it being a private, uncelebrated affair, Elsa still had the courtesy to invite several important nobles and family members, all of which would be present at the later coronation ceremony as well. As they slowly started their walk down the aisle, Anna caught a quick glance of a few people she recognized from last year's coronation and she thought she spotted the American delegate as well. He had become a close friend to the family since he had remained in Arendelle as America's representative, so that wasn't a surprise.

But Anna's attention was quickly diverted to what lay at the end of the aisle. Elise. Elise was absolutely beaming in their direction. Unlike Elsa, Elise wore an ice dress of her own design. This one was as white as snow and tight fitting enough to show off the curves of her body far too well. Icy embroidery and designs danced across the surface in intricate patterns and her sleeves were completely sheer from the shoulder down. The dress went all the way up to her shoulders where it ended in a very pronounced, sparkling high collar. Her black hair was spiked up in the regular Elise fashion, though Anna noticed it had been adorned with tiny snowflakes that gave it a sparkling exotic look. The real eye catcher though, was the open space at her chest that showed off a ridiculously scandalous amount of cleavage. A single snowflake pendent was the only amount of cover over the exposed pale skin. Even Anna had trouble keeping her eyes from lingering too long. She was sure Elsa was failing at it miserably at the moment.

Standing beside her was Kristoff, who was supposed to be her "best man" and Admiral Hoffman, who had been chosen to walk Elise down the aisle. The Admiral had taken an almost father-like affection towards Elise over the past months and there wasn't a better candidate to give her away. Both men looked ravishing, the Admiral in his sharp military uniform, and Kristoff in a get-up Anna never thought possible for the normally scruff and rough ice harvester.

_Just wait until our own wedding, Kristoff. If you though preparing for this one was torture, just you wait._

Anna could feel Elsa shudder through their close proximity and when she turned to look up at her sister, she saw her with the most blissful, cute smile she'd ever seen her wear complimented with a blush that radiated through every layer of makeup she wore. For a brief moment, Anna was terrorized with the thought that the twins' excitement would give themselves away.

Anna cast the thoughts aside, however. Worrying would only ruin the moment.

The ceremony continued on without a hitch or hiccup. It was perfect.

Following the ceremony's conclusion, the doors to the private lounge had barely time to close before Elise and Elsa came together in the kiss that they had been denied during the ceremony. The guests and bishop outside had only seen the illusion, the brief and awkward, chaste kiss that Elsa and Elise shared at the end of the ceremony. This was the real the conclusion of the ceremony and Anna was its only witness. It was perfect.

* * *

Elise found herself again standing at the front of the chapel for the fourth time. The baptism, her christening, the earlier wedding, and now her coronation. This time the chapel was filled to the brim with people. Twice as many than the wedding ceremony and a whole slew of extra dignitaries that hadn't had the chance to make it to her christening.

Elise was still bubbling with enough pride and excitement from the wedding two hours earlier to outdo her nervousness. Plus, she was standing up there with her family. Her wife was by her side and they were hand in hand. Sisterly holding hands of course. Anna was with them too, off to the side. Elise had chosen to stay in her fancy ice dress while her two sisters had spent the respite changing. Her wife had changed out of her wedding dress and into the dress she had worn for her own coronation. Anna had changed into a purple and pink gown that was interwoven with ice crystals of Elsa's handiwork.

The coronation was going smoothly and before Elise knew it, she was bowing her head for the bishop to crown her. Elsa squeezed her hand in reassurance before letting go so that Elise could finish the ceremony.

Elise picked up the orb and scepter from the pillow and turned around to face her people just as Elsa had done one year ago. While Elsa had looked unsure and nervous, Elise, with her scandalously short hair, was the picture of confidence and certitude.

"Sem hon heldr inum helgum eignum ok krýnd í þessum helga stað ek té fram fyrir yðr..." the bishop spoke in Old Norse as Elise looked over _her_ people. "…Queen Elise of Arendelle."

_Queen Elise of Arendelle._

Elise inhaled sharply at the words as if they were a surprise to her. _Queen Elise_. And in that moment, Elise knew that dreams really do come true, though maybe not in the initially expected way.

* * *

Hours passed by as day turned into evening. A grand feast followed the coronation that turned into a ball that lasted well into the night. By the time the newlyweds excused themselves from the festivities – which was just late enough to not look suspicious – more food was being brought out for the energetic stragglers, Anna included, who opted to continue the party. It had been a wonderful celebration and even though it had been meant for the coronation, it stopped no one from celebrating the wedding. The castle staff presented Elsa and Elise with a surprise traditional kransekake, gifts were exchanged, and the couple even shared an unofficial first dance.

Despite the best efforts of the dignitaries and politicians, Elsa and Elise managed to stay by each other's side the entire night. It was a joyous celebration filled with dancing and music and feasting. Elsa genuinely enjoyed herself and she could tell that Elise had as well. They had done some dancing and some mingling, but for the most part they stayed off to the side by themselves. They had no regrets though, as both Elsa and Elise enjoyed just watching as long as they were in each other's company. Anna, on the other hand, had placed herself directly in the middle of the action where she belonged. Anna had certainly enjoyed herself, Elsa figured, and expected Anna's recovery to spill into tomorrow afternoon no doubt.

Tomorrow was their first full day married, Elsa reminded herself as she and Elise walked towards their bedchambers arm in arm. Due to the nature of their marriage, there would be no honeymoon, though that didn't stop Elsa and Elise from taking a few days off anyway. Elsa figured after a few weeks they could take a trip to the North Mountain and that could be their honeymoon.

No, these next few days were just meant for relaxing, just themselves. Elsa had given orders for the castle staff to keep out of the royal family apartments over the next few days except to deliver meals or other supplies. Elsa and Elise, and by extension Anna, would be on their own. That meant there would be no interruptions.

"That was such a magical day," Elise remarked as they reached their bedroom door.

It really had been, so perfect. Long too though, it had been a very long day. "Yes, it was, Elsy," Elsa responded.

"But I can't believe Anna is still out there," Elise commented as if she had been thinking the same thing as Elsa.

"Well, you know her," Elsa said with a smile as she threw off her shoes and started undoing her bodice. "The night's still young."

"To her maybe, it's already past midnight. How can anyone dance for that long?" Elise asked as she too started undoing the more meddlesome parts of her outfit.

"The night's still young for us, too," Elsa commented with a sly smile.

"Huh?" had been all Elise had managed to say before Elsa pounced on her and had her cradled in her arms. "W-what the…oh OH," Elise stammered as she realized Elsa was sauntering over to the bed.

"Oh, don't tell me you forgot," Elsa snickered.

"Oh…I ugh…kind of got caught up in all that has happened today," Elise sputtered.

"Well, after all these months of nagging and on the day of you completely forget…I expected different from you, Elsy," Elsa crowed as she deposited Elise onto the bed.

"Oh, shut up, Els. I deduce that you've been waiting for this all day, correct?" Elise asked with a sly grin and sudden confidence in her voice.

Elise wasn't wrong. Once they had gotten though the coronation, Elsa found her worry suddenly disappear, though there was a distant nagging feeling that Anna was going to do something stupid like last year. With her worry gone, desire rose up in its place. Her libido only skyrocketed from there as years upon years of self-restraint were beginning to unravel as the idea of consummation approached. Her desire turned into straight arousal that almost had Elsa pulling Elise to the bedroom hours earlier had she not controlled herself.

However, now that Elise had regained her sexual confidence, the tables had turned and Elsa felt herself grow timid yet extremely aroused. Her thighs were becoming increasingly wet feeling and unconformable.

"Well," Elise said as she casually dissolved her entire outfit into nothingness. "Are you ready?" Only a pale skinned body remained on the bed.

_Oh shit._

"I...ugh…uhm…I well…uh…well I'm uh…" Elsa stammered as panic started to take hold. Her fists were grasping her skirt as her eyes roamed Elise's exposed skin. Surely she had seen Elise naked before, but this was on a whole next level.

"Oh, come on, love, don't be so bashful," Elise cooed as she glided off the bed and approached Elsa's stiff form. Slowly and sensually, she started to remove Elsa's clothing until nothing remained. Elsa was stuck in place throughout the process as she stammered out unintelligible sounds.

Elsa was stricken by her sudden nakedness and even more so by the unflattering glistening between her legs. Before she even got a chance to cover up her shame though, Elise grabbed her hands and swiftly pulled Elsa on top of her.

Landing on top of Elise's nude body set Elsa's skin ablaze. It also destroyed the last barrier that held back Elsa's lust. She instinctively moaned and leaned into the crook of Elise's neck. Every minor brush of Elise's pubic hair and heated pelvic regions were sending spasms throughout Elsa's body.

"Take me please," Elsa groaned in Elise's ear.

"I'm sorry what?" Elise asked with a sly grin as Elsa continued to press herself into her twin's body, craving the warmth and contact.

"I said take me now!" Elsa groaned more urgently. Elsa shuddered as her hips started grinding into Elise out of reflex.

"Oh, so now you're ready," Elise smirked as she forcefully flipped Elsa onto her back and knelt over her prey. Elsa stared up at her with eyes the size of saucers while Elise watched below with a sly grin. Elsa was ashamed at the way her hips bucked upwards, but no amount of shame could break through her carnal desire now.

"I want…I want you to deflower me," Elsa whispered through now half-lidded eyes, the lust completely taking over.

Elise only responded with a tight-lipped smile as she started slowly crawling down the length of Elsa's body. She took her time, leaving a trail of icy kisses down the length of Elsa's body from her neck to her navel while her hands gently kneaded Elsa's breasts.

Elsa may not have been bothered by the cold, but by God those magic infused kisses were making Elsa's body shudder. And those hands were playing wonders on her breasts; Elsa didn't even know that her bosom could be manipulated in such a sensual way.

"Christ…" Elsa slipped out as Elise played her body like a fine tuned instrument.

However, when a chilled breath ghosted over her super-heated center, Elsa's panic flared up again.

"Wait, wait, I-I don't want to hurt you," Elsa panted as she remembered what had happened the first and only time Elsa had partaken in her sexual desires.

Elise looked back at her with a sly grin. "You can't hurt me, my queen," Elise replied as she slid her hands down Elsa's body and pushed her legs apart.

_Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgoohgoohgodohgodohgodohgod_

"You know," Elise started as she leaned her head on one hand while using the other to trace an icy trail along Elsa's skin, purposely avoiding her most sensitive parts. "I masturbated to you once."

_What the fuuu…get on with it pleeaase!_

"I…f-figured…that…you've done that…a lot," Elsa responded in-between pants.

"It was before we were together though. I watched you take a bath in the Ice Palace," Elise continued rather casually as if she was speaking to herself. "I've wanted you so badly." Elsa was barely registering what Elise was saying now.

Elsa yelped when Elise brought her face down and placed an icy kiss right on top of Elsa's vulva. But Elise just continued her lazy finger trailing when she pulled back. Elsa was too lost in the moment to notice Elise watching her with a smirk.

"Okay…okay, I get it now can you _please_ just fuck me already," Elsa pleaded after an eternity of Elise trailing her fingers along a useless path. It had been only a few seconds in reality.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask," Elise snorted.

Elsa was wholly unprepared for Elise's onslaught as stars exploded before her eyes for a brief moment.

Elsa had absolutely no idea how two woman were supposed to have sex going into this and she was slightly curious when she looked up to find her twin's face buried in her crotch. Elsa had been expecting the work of fingers on her clit and opening, but instead she felt a warm tongue and sucking lips. And it felt a thousand times better than Elsa imagined.

It wasn't long after depositing Elsa's legs over her shoulder that Elise's fingers joined in on the assault. Elsa's felt two ice-cold fingers penetrate her burning cunt as Elise's tongue continued to lap away at her.

_Jesus, it's just like Anna said._

Elsa didn't last much longer as the orgasm overtook her. In an instant, Elsa felt herself clamp down on Elise's fingers and arch her body while her eyes screwed shut and she covered her mouth in an attempt to muffle the impending scream. In the same instant, her mind went blank in total bliss.

"Oh, Elsy!"

When Elsa recovered, which felt like years later, she lifted her head and opened her eyes hoping to find her lover. Instead she found a girl that looked just like her with short whitish hair and glistening lips kneeling between her legs. Which were also coated white as was the girls face and arms…

_Frost…it's frost._

"Oh God, Elise are you okay?" Elsa somehow managed to ask. Elise was smirking at her with a single eyebrow raised.

"Told you I'd be fine…" the frosted girl noted as she shook her head and deposited the melting ice, returning her hair to its natural dark color. There was a lot of frost all over the room as well, but it didn't concern Elsa at the moment. "…the cold never bothered me anyway."

Elsa breathed a sigh of relief and let her head roll back into the bed as she went into the process of trying to calm down her still shuddering body. Elsa realized that Elise's fingers were still lodged inside of her when she pulled them out and started crawling up Elsa's body.

Using just one hand, Elsa noted as she watched Elise stick the fingers from one into her mouth and pull them back out with a 'pop'. The move brought renewed arousal down to her center.

Elise crawled on top of Elsa and brought her into a deep kiss which Elsa greedily accepted. It took her a few moments to realize what this new peculiar flavor she was tasting on Elise's lips was. When she did her eyes went wide and she pulled back suddenly.

"Is this…"

"You taste delicious," Elise answered before Elsa could finish.

"Mmmm," Elsa moaned in agreement as she brought their lips together again.

"Would you like to taste me?" Elise asked when they came up for air.

"Yes, yes, absolutely yes. In a moment though, I just want to kiss you," Elsa panted as she dived back in. While their tongues danced, Elsa starting grinding her hips into what she assumed was Elise's thigh. She could feel Elise began to grind back on her own thigh. A few minutes followed before she managed to drive herself into another breath-taking orgasm.

 _Amateur,_ Elise playfully thought to herself as Elsa spasmed underneath her. Elsa was getting off rather easily. Too fast for Elise's experienced body. She'd have to change that tonight.

Not long after, Elsa found herself staring into Elise's own soaking center for the first time of the night. Elsa bit her lip as she realized she had no idea what she was doing in the least bit. Elsa had to fight the urge to attend to her own needs that the sight and smell were amplifying. Her wife had serviced her twice, now it was Elsa's turn to return the favor. If only she knew how.

_D-do I just lick it or something or what…_

Elise let her frustrations of Elsa's hesitation become known when she forced Elsa's head into her lap with a grunt, holding her head down until Elsa started doing something. It was either learn what to do or stop breathing. Though strangely enough, Elsa found no quarrel with the idea of suffocating with her face pressed into something so intoxicating.

Slowly but surely – and after several awkward moments that included, but was not limited to accidentally biting down too hard on sensitive parts of Elise's anatomy – Elsa had Elise quivering under her touch.

Several hours and multiple orgasms later, Elsa found herself wide awake, staring up at the ceiling while her twin slept peacefully on top of her. Frost coated the walls, her hair was a tangled mess, her body was unbearable sticky and wet with sweat and bodily fluids, and there was a dull soreness in her cunt that reminded her of how rough Elise licked to get as well as how sore she was going to be tomorrow. Besides that, Elsa was in total bliss, too excited to sleep just yet, but too stuck in ecstasy to move. Her only regret was the she hadn't done this sooner.

Elsa was afraid of dreaming, afraid of experiencing something in her dreams that would be more perfect than this day had been. But even she couldn't escape the call of exhaustion and eventually Elsa drifted off into sleep curled up with her lover knowing she was going to wake up sore and sticky. She wouldn't have it anyway other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta readers, Mig and rd.
> 
> The line the bishop speaks in Old Norse is pronounced: Sehm hon HELL-drr IN-um HELL-gum AYG-num ok krund ee THES-um HELL- gah STAHTH, ehk teh frahm FUR-ear U- thear...
> 
> This is taken directly from the script by the way.
> 
> I basically copied the dress designs from Once Upon a Time, kind of as a call out and kind of because I liked them. Except Anna's. So yes, Elise is wearing the Snow Queen's outfit, because I wanted to imagine her in that (just think of all that cleavage), and Elsa was wearing the wedding dress that was handed down from her mother because I liked that concept.
> 
> To my Reviewers (from ff.net):
> 
> RelsannaFarendell: "Jesus christ... that was... i was sweating like a waterfall... but aww possessive elsa is cutest _"
> 
> You should be sweating for other reasons this chapter.
> 
> CanITellUSmThin: "Damn, Anna! I can't believe she would do that. :o
> 
> And wow. Elsa's outburst towards Anna was surprising.
> 
> Looks like there's trouble lying ahead... Oh, boy. Can't wait for the next installment!"
> 
> Anna's not so innocent is she? I told you from the beginning I was going to throw in elsanna teases. I never did indicate which Elsa though ;^)
> 
> Guest: "I live this story it keeps getting better and better update soon"
> 
> Will do.
> 
> Shortchannel4 [12]: "That was very sensual."
> 
> I'm glad you thought so. I hope this one was up to par too.
> 
> Thanks for reading and please keep reviewing.


	21. The Two Queens

"Thank you for your time, your majesty," the man concluded as he bowed.

Elise drummed her fingers on the armrest of her throne as the man was ushered away. Her head rested in her other palm in an unprofessional pose that only the most oblivious wouldn't take for obvious boredom.

_That's one more down. And too many more to go by the looks of it._

"You could at least pretend," Anna spoke up from her seat beside the throne as the man was led out of earshot. It was actually throne _s_ now, however, one of them was currently unoccupied.

It was true that Elise wasn't making any effort and it was unfortunate for those that were attempting to petition the crown this day for it was Queen Elise's turn to hold court with the citizenry. Elise simply was not concerned with the little details; she had her attention on the larger, broader issues like foreign relations and diplomacy. The finer details of domestic policy were Elsa's realm. That was Elise's school of thought ever since she took the throne over a month ago.

Elise sighed before turning to Anna. "Let's not pretend your sister isn't any more enthused with holding court for the common folk," Elise answered. That was true, since Elsa did prefer holing herself up in her study all day.

"Your _wife_ may be shy, but at least she is genuine with her subjects," Anna retorted.

"Eh..." was Elise's only response as she waved Anna's opinion off with a dismissive swish of her hand. Anna just rolled her eyes.

"I might as well hold court myself from now on," Anna murmured to herself.

"Hmm?"

"I mean, between your inattention and Elsa's...Elsaness, I'm wouldn't be surprised if people aren't just coming to see me," Anna continued, more to herself than Elise.

Elise smirked. "There's a reason we make you attend after all," she taunted, knowing full well that Anna was trying to push her buttons.

"Oh, really now?" Anna asked. "And here I thought I was just here to look pretty."

"Well, of course not. That's what Elsa and I are here for," Elise jested. "You're the one supposed to be listening."

"Oh, you just wait till Els hears about this!" Anna huffed as she crossed her arms. "There'll be no sex for you tonight."

Elise looked sharply at the princess. "Anna!" she scolded under her breath. "Cut it out, we're in public."

"Oh, no one can hear us, besides-"

Anna was suddenly cut off at the sound of a commotion coming from the gathered crowd of citizens eagerly awaiting to seek forum with the crown.

A man had forced his way out of the crowed. He was screaming at the top of his lungs, "Norway belongs to the Norwegian people! Arendelle has split this country for too long! Down with these incestuous witches! Norwegians for Norway!"

He was heading straight for the throne and Elise was quick to jump up and step in front of Anna. Though it was a useless gesture as he barely made it outside of the designated waiting area before being tackled by several guards. They didn't need to wait for the queen's command to haul him away, however, he continued to kick and scream until he was forced out of the throne room.

As his screaming faded away, the only sound that remained was the murmur of the crowd, which also ended as soon as the yelling faded completely. Anna had jumped up as well and was now hanging onto Elise's arm in defense.

"Queen Elise, Princess Anna, are you okay?" one of the head guards asked as he came up to the sisters.

"We are fine. I don't believe he was a threat, I didn't see any weapons. However, make sure he is dealt with appropriately," Elsa commanded. "Kai?"

"Yes, your majesty?" Kai asked as the head guard bowed and took his leave to carry out his orders.

"We're done for the day. Give apologies to those that didn't get to see me, then escort them out," she ordered. "Anna and I are leaving."

"Very well, your majesty," Kai answered, bowed, and then left.

Elise immediately turned and strolled out with Anna in tow before any kind of official ceremony could be conducted. There was certain decorum that was supposed to be followed while conducting court. Elise figured there was no better time when that decorum could be ignored.

The incident had Elise more annoyed than shaken up. The same couldn't be said for Anna and that was what made Elise's anger rise. She didn't like when people scared her little sister.

"I really don't think he meant to hurt us," Elise assured to Anna after a few minutes of walking in silence. At the moment, Elise wasn't leading them to any particular destination.

"I know, I just hate when I hear those nasty rumors about you two," Anna explained and Elise could tell her shock was soon turning into her anger.

"Uh, those rumors are true, Anna," Elise corrected her.

"But they don't know that! They know they're spreading lies, even if they're technically right. But that's not the point, the point is they're blasphemous. I mean, what are they trying to accomplish?"

Elise considered her response. It was a complicated situation. "You know what, Anna, let's forget about it and go find Els. See if she's done her work," Elise suggested.

"Alright, fine," Anna agreed.

It didn't take the pair long before they ran into Elsa in the hallways on the way to her study.

"Oh, Elsy, Anna. I was just looking for you two," Elsa greeted with a carefree smile. "I heard you guys had a little incident at court. It's my understanding that everything's okay, correct?"

Word traveled fast. "Don't even get me started on it," Anna remarked.

"That bad, huh?" Elsa asked.

"Well no, I think Anna is exaggerating just a little," Elise pointed out causing Anna to fold her arms and huff at Elise. "She's a little worked up, but it was nothing really."

"Well, you can tell me all about your day now. I know how much you love holding court," Elsa teased. Elise rolled her eyes.

"Oh, good, you're done for the day, too?" Anna eagerly asked. Holding court was the last thing Elise – and Anna – had planned for the day. At the same time, Elsa had been in meetings and dealing with paperwork. They all had other things on their mind.

"Yes, our evening is completely free. What do you want to do?" Elsa asked. Ever since the marriage, all three sisters had more than doubled the amount of free time they could share together. It was amazing.

"The baths," the three girls answered simultaneously causing them to giggle.

* * *

"I just don't get it," Anna wondered out loud as she lounged against the side of bath's edge. "Why do people suddenly care about Norway after all these years? What's the big deal?"

"It's called nationalism, Anna," Elsa pointed out from across the steamy pool of water with Elise by her side. "Pride in one's country is a powerful force."

"But why now? Why do they choose now to make a ruckus about it?" Anna whined, splashing at the hot water.

"I'm not sure. People are opportunists though. Some people aren't happy with me marrying my own sister, so the nationalists use that to raise a storm and tack along their own movement with it. However, Norwegian nationalism has always been here, Anna, but there was never a reason to act on it before. People were content. Now, I guess they're not so content," Elsa tried explaining.

"Not content? How are their lives any different from last year? How does this marriage make them not content? How does it affect them at all?" Anna questioned.

"I don't know. They're probably just looking for an excuse to rattle the cage," Elsa answered. "They're just a fringe though, the majority of people are content. I can assure you that."

"It concerns me though," Elise spoke up. She was staring off at the far wall, unlike Elsa and Anna who had their eyes closed this whole time. "There are more and more cases of rebellious sentiment popping up. They're giving the secret police a run for their money too. I don't like it, Elsa. I'm worried."

"You're telling me, it's not even safe for me to go out into my own city alone anymore," Anna added, opening her eyes to look at her two queens. The Captain of the Guard, and subsequently Elsa's head of secret police, had advised that the princess no longer go out into the city without a full guard detachment. There were simply too many things that could go wrong now that tension was rising.

"Well, I think you two should relax and enjoy the water, which I should point out that neither of us have froze yet," Elsa observed.

"'preciate it," Anna said while Elise just shrugged.

"Oh Anna, by the way, you promised to tell us about your trip with Kristoff last weekend," Elise pointed out as she shifted in the water to snuggle up with her wife, who hastily accepted.

Anna, who had been eagerly awaiting, but kept forgetting, to tell her story was ecstatic and began without a hitch as if she'd been prepared to tell it this whole time. Which wasn't true since Anna had of course forgotten.

She launched into it at once and her story had gone on for quite a while before she realized neither Elise nor Elsa had interrupted her or commented once. She had realized it actually, but Anna was on a roll and she wasn't stopping now.

It was the rather loud giggle though that eventually caused Anna to pause. She opened her eyes for the first time since starting to find Elsa sitting in Elise's lap, which wasn't abnormal during their occasional trips to the royal baths.

Elsa and Elise were not paying attention to her in the slightest. They were snuggling close and kissing in-between whispering into each other's ears. Anna watched the cute display with fondness for a few minutes before growing annoyed at realizing that they had been ignoring her this whole time.

"Hey, you two haven't been listening to me at all!" Anna yelled, startling the couple out of their session. "That's so rude, I'm leaving."

Anna bolted up out of the water in anger without bothering to grab her towel, instead using her hands and arms to cover herself.

"Anna, we're sorry...we just got carried away," Elsa tried explaining quickly before Anna could make her retreat.

"No," Anna interrupted. "I was looking forward to telling you all week. Plus, now that I thought about it, that is kind of gross. You're both naked and fondling each other while I'm right next to you. Why don't you two just have sex while you're at it?"

The blush that formed across Elsa's face was too cute, but Elise's smirk drove Anna up a wall. Especially because she knew Elise was sure to make a comment.

Sure enough, Elise opened her mouth for a sharp remark and Anna visibly balled her hands into fists in annoyance. Elise was Anna's best friend, but sometimes Anna felt like she was on her own to fight the twins when they ganged up on her like this.

Elise though, recognized Anna's building frustration and closed her mouth. She and Elsa exchanged a regretful glance, but Anna just huffed and turned her back to the twins.

"Come back in Anna, we'll listen now. We promise," Elsa pleaded.

"Yeah, Anna, we're really sorry. That was rude and we should have been paying attention," Elise added.

"Wellll...no, I won't come back in, but you owe me. Right now," Anna demanded as she turned back to the twins.

"Fine, what do you want?" Elsa asked.

"Hmmm," Anna said as she tapped her chin with a finger while her other hand rested on her hip, obviously forgetting to cover herself back up when she turned back around. Elise was rewarded with an underwater pinch on the thigh when Elsa caught her eyes wandering downward. Elsa glared at Elise who smirked back. Anna missed the whole exchange.

"I got it-"

"Snowman?" Elise and Elsa cutoff Anna together.

"Hey! Not fair!" Anna whined. Of course Anna was going to say that though.

The two twins giggled.

"So, are we going to be building snowmen in the nude?" Elise asked as she stood up out of the water without covering up.

Anna's face flushed over as her eyes met Elise's body, half a second before she took the hint and flailed around trying to find her towel causing Elise to burst out laughing.

"You two are so immature," Elsa observed as she got out herself. "Come on girls, let's get dressed and we'll build snowman to Anna's heart's content."

"And?" Anna asked.

"And we'll listen to your story," the two twins answered in unison.

"Good," Anna said as she wrapped her arms around her two older sister's shoulders and led them to the dressing room. Anna almost smirked at her own cleverness. Surely spending the evening building snowman with Elsa and Elise had been her plan all along – and she truly had forgotten about that story she'd been meaning to tell all week – but Anna's plan had been to pester them until she got her way. It wasn't like they didn't like building snowman with her, but sometimes Anna wasn't so successful. Especially when they spent the evening before doing that activity. Like last evening for example.

_Okay, maybe that was more luck then cleverness, but we're still building snowmen regardless._

"I bet you think you're clever," Elise admitted out of the blue, as if reading Anna's thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Guilting us into building snowmen like that," Elsa added.

_I swear these two can read each other's minds sometimes._

"I don't know what you're talking about," Anna said innocently.

She was rewarded with Elsa rolling her eyes. "It's like you actually expect us to decline if you just asked," she pointed out.

"Well, you do...sometimes," Anna began.

"That was like twice, Anna," Elsa replied back coolly.

"Well, maybe I figured you'd get bored of building snowmen," Anna retorted, shrugging.

"Anna, since when has 'building snowman' just been building snowmen?" Elsa inquired. It was true, 'building snowman' had become an euphemism for playing with Elsa or Elise's powers, mostly because building snowmen always turned into something else, something more.

_Well, I might not have been so clever after all, but I still consider this a win for me._

And so it was, enough that for the time being at least, neither sister had the troubles of the kingdom at the forefront of their minds.

* * *

The trouble of the kingdom was at the forefront of the mind of everyone else, however. The joyous celebrations of the wedding and coronation had long since died down and the tension that had been building all winter had resumed and continued to grow.

It started during the cold winter months. Rumors about the beloved queen and her, supposedly, wicked twin. They had been nasty rumors, blasphemy in the eyes of the common folk who respected their leadership, and were aimed at their sensitivities such as their love for their princesses. That the wicked Queen Elise, then princess, had forced her way to the throne through seduction while defiling her baby sister, the beloved Princess Anna. The accusations were extreme and usually scoffed at. Surely the shy princess that the common folk saw out in town with Princess Anna wasn't doing anything of the like. She was quiet to the people, however, everyone noticed how much those two enjoyed each other's company. And even the queen, the few times she got out, was chipper while with her sisters. Surely something like as vile as the rumors spoken weren't going on. Then again, the people knew very little what went on within the castle walls.

As hated as they were, like all rumors, they began to spread. At the same time the nationalists decided to make an uproar of their own, a long since dormant desire to return to one Norway. Not since the days of Arendelle's independence had people cared for the issue of an intact Norway. Norwegian nationalists had been dormant until spurred on by events such as the Greek War of Independence, however, they were only a minority. But with this new casus belli against the current leadership, the spreading idea of nationalism had found an issue to give it voice.

The long winter months reminded the residents of the Great Freeze and how lucky they had been to survive that ordeal and how much extra work they had to make up for to survive the natural winter as consequence. The dissenters and gossipers made sure to remind the people whose fault that accidental winter was and that now with Elise in the picture, there was an even greater chance of it happening again. Even Elise and her murky background brought out strange rumors and tales that exasperated the rumors against the royal family. The lack of a history meant she was a wildcard, an unknown piece in the power that held up stability. If the power structure of the country was like a building, no one was sure if Elise was a support constructed out of solid material or material that was completely rotted on the inside. Even the most stringent royalists couldn't say for certain if Queen Elsa herself was a strong support, being a complete recluse for twenty-one years herself.

In the eyes of many though, anything that was threat to the stability of their lives was a threat to them. Elise's lack of background and to a lesser extent Elsa's elusiveness, combined with their dangerous powers, were too much of a threat to stability. On their own the gossipers and rumors were nothing but that. But with a movement behind them, the nationalists, people started to listen and follow. And while the majority of people that took up the banner of one united Norway may not have believed all the lies and rumors about the royal family, it was fear and uncertainty that ultimately swooned upon them.

A small minority of people genuinely believed the lies perpetrated against the crown and wanted, at least one or both, witches burned at the stake. A larger portion, mostly out of fear or self-preservation – and in some cases legitimate nationalist desire – desired that the Kingdom of Arendelle come to an end and the Norwegian nation be complete once more. The majority of the people of Arendelle though, were either undecided or were strictly loyal to the crown. However, everyone could feel the tension as more and more people, friends and neighbors sometimes, chose the dissenter camp.

But everyone knew it only took a small minority to throw the whole system off balance.

* * *

"So, as my report states, there is only minimal risk of violence and I firmly believe that the situation has plateaued," the Captain of the Guard reported to the council. "Within a month, we'll have Arendelle back to normal if the Council approves my plan."

"Captain, you are aware how easily a crackdown such as this can reignite the flames of rebellion," the Queen Elsa spoke.

"I am very aware, your majesty. I intend to take every step and precaution to ensure this operation does not make a martyr of the targets," the Captain replied.

"I have seen your proposal and what you have planned, Captain. I do believe you are taking all the necessary precautions, however, this operation of yours worries me. If anything goes wrong, things could get out of hand very fast," Elsa cautioned.

"If the situation has plateaued as your reports states, why not let it wither away on its own?" Admiral Hoffman asked.

"Because there's no guarantee that the problem will go away without getting worse again. We cannot let this insurrection fester any longer," General Holt quickly answered. "Any number of random events could rekindle the flames."

"Such as a heavy crackdown like the Captain proposes," Chancellor Jakobsen pointed out.

"With all due respect councilors, this is a very delicate situation and requires necessary action, but I am very prepared to handle it with such a delicate touch so not to disturb the peace any further," the Captain announced before further bickering among the councilmen could continue. "I give you my word on all my years of service to the crown that I will handle this accordingly, your majesty."

"Queen Elise, what is your opinion?" Elsa inquired to her wife/twin that sat at her side.

"I think, that we should do whatever's necessary for the safety and protection of Arendelle. If you have confidence in the Captain's ability to handle this situation than so do I," Elise declared.

"Then it is decided, unless there are any of those who disagree?" Elsa looked around the room, but there were no objections. "In that case, Captain, you may proceed with your plan."

Elsa could tell that the admiral and chancellor both disagreed with this idea, but she was left with no choice. Elsa didn't agree with the Captains reports that the situation had calmed down. Her own secret police had been telling her the opposite which meant there was a major slip up in one or either organizations. They were both run by very good and honorable men though. It was, however, definitely time for major reforms in both organizations, her Royal Guard and her secret police. In the meantime, Elsa had confidence that her Royal Guard could put an end to this headache once and for all.

"I will execute my orders as promised, your majesties," the Captain said with a bow.

As he turned to depart, Elise quickly intervened. "Oh, by the way Captain, I have not yet been able to look over your other reports. How has the conversion to the new firearms gone?"

"Oh splendidly, Queen Elise. The percussion cap firearms have been fully integrated into service with the Royal Guard."

Elsa remembered denying a request for such firearms a little less than a year ago. Money was tighter then. And as Elsa remembered, the request had been made because of Elise in the first place. Elsa looked over at her twin and almost laughed out loud right in front of everyone in the in the council chambers. To think that when she'd first denied that request, the day after Elise arrived, that Elsa and that strange intruder would soon be side by side as twin sisters, rulers, and lovers was absolutely ridiculous.

Speaking of the firearms, Elsa also remembered that there was a certain deal that Elise had made that allowed her the capital for such modernization. A deal that required her end of the bargain to be fulfilled in just the next week.

* * *

"Have the final preparations been made?" asked the burly man from across the table.

"Everything is ready to go on our end," answered the royal councilor. "You'll make your move when we give the signal."

"And what about this upcoming Guard crackdown?" the man asked. "Should we be worried?"

The Foreign Minister of Arendelle smiled to himself. This nationalist leader may have been a key player in their coup, but that didn't mean he needed to know any more than necessary.

"Just worry about your own mission," Minister Hansen assured. "Leave the other details to us."

"I need to know what I'm going up against before-"

"Just do what you're supposed to if you want any say in the future. Have your men secure the positions we've asked for and await further instruction," Hansen interrupted. "Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir. But what about the queens?" the man asked, obviously to Hansen that he was more worried about the Queen's power over ice and snow than the Royal forces of Arendelle.

Hansen smiled. "Leave that to us."

**Later that evening...**

"Are the nationalists ready to move?"

"They're now awaiting on our signal," Hansen answered to the Minister of Army.

"What does he say about the crackdown?" the general asked.

"He's aware of it, but I assured him not to worry about it. That's your job, after all."

The general was pacing back and forth across the room. "My men will handle it. The poor saps won't know what hit them and we'll be gone before they have a chance to recover."

"Good." The foreign minister continued to watch the general pace. "You seem extra worried. What's wrong?"

"Of course I'm worried, boy, do you know what's at stake?" the general spat.

"If you don't think you can handle this job…" Hansen started.

"Of course I can, Hallvard. I know what forces are loyal to me and which ones will be problematic. I'm confident my men can handle the dissenters and royalists." The general stopped pacing to look over a map with counters that showed the positions of Arendelle's local army units. It hadn't changed when he looked at it twenty minutes earlier.

"And the navy?"

"Hoffman's navy was a tougher shell to crack then we thought," the general quickly reported. It was true that the loyalty of Admiral Hoffman's men to the crown was unparalleled. The conspirators had to give up trying to infiltrate it rather than risking exposing their operation. "I'm afraid in this case we have to rely on Arendelle's coastal defenses."

"You're not concerned with most of the crown's naval assets being sent to Trondheim?" Hansen continued to question the general. "They could be used to counterattack?"

"It's a blessing that they're gone," the general stated, dropping into the nearest seat. "As long as you do your job, there won't be any counter-attacks to worry about. Am I correct?"

"You should be as confident in my abilities as I am with yours," Hansen replied. The general's job was to secure Arendelle from royalist forces and take command of the nationalist rebels that were supposed to rise up in arms following the "little incident" that was planned for the upcoming crackdown on dissenters. Arendelle's army was already fleeting as it was; Arendelle's also fleeting navy was always considered the more significant arms of the two. A combined force of General Holt's loyal army units and nationalist militias should have been enough to secure Arendelle from what royalist forces remained in the capital, however, it was the "people's army" from Norway that was supposed to serve as the true catalyst of their coup. Nothing was final until those forces arrived in Arendelle.

Foreign Minister Hansen's job, however, besides securing foreign support for the conspiracy, was to secure the seat of power itself. That required incapacitating the three royal sisters and the rest of the Council. The latter was the easy job. Chancellor Jakobsen, Minister Vinter, Minister Nielson, and the Minister of Treasury's replacement for the late Kristoffersen, Minister Olav Ostberg were all to be arrested at their offices. Hansen planned on offering and was hoping that Ministers Vinter, Nielson, and Ostberg would accept new positions in Arendelle's interim government for their skillful work. The Chancellor would be offered no such deal, for his loyalty to the crown was far too great.

"I suppose you will be dealing with Admiral Hoffman then?" the general asked casually as if reading Hansen's mind.

"Of course, he will most likely be with Queen Elsa at the docks," Hansen stated. Admiral Hoffman would be arrested when the Guards came for Elsa while she attended the docks. He would be the most difficult of the councilors to detain.

The first of the American "ice ships" that Queen Elsa was under contract to fill with ice were bound for Arendelle within the week. A small ceremony had been planned for the filling of the first batch. However, that same morning Queen Elsa and her Admiral were due to check out and inspect the ships. That's when they were to strike. That's when the whole coup would commence in fact. Princess Anna would be the easiest of the royals, she would be taken while still, probably sleeping, in the castle. Her apprehension was actually quite vital to securing Queen Elsa's apprehension actually. Princess Anna was their bargaining chip to get Queen Elsa to comply rather than force a fight. Hansen and his people intended to take Queen Elsa alive and hold her which they had made preparations for thanks to the lessons of holding her AND Queen Elise in the past. She was to be either held indefinitely or put on trial. The last thing that they wanted was a repeat of the French Revolution, but Elsa and her magical powers were a special case. Perhaps they could use the princess to break the deposed queen's spirits? That was a possibility.

Queen Elise on the other hand was a different story. She was a wildcard, too unpredictable and too unstable to leave as factor. She was to be killed on contact. Hansen's contacts had gotten him in touch with people who had firsthand experience fighting an ice sorceress, the Duke of Weseltown's bodyguards, and Hansen and forwarded that information to the team responsible for her demise. She would be tough to take down, but Hansen was certain that she would be dead before the morning was up.

Hallvard Hansen had never been one to care for the rumors that Queen Elsa and Queen Elise were having a forbidden, incestuous relationship. They had just been a tool for his own success. But perhaps if they were true, would it not be poetic justice that the cause of the royal family's downfall was these rumors? For twenty-one years the crown's secret police had kept Elsa's powers a complete mystery to the world. And in less than one, it took a rumor to make it so ineffective that they couldn't even see under their own noses. If Queen Elsa really had been wasting all her resources on covering up the truth, then it really was justice that she rendered her own secret police ineffective.

It didn't matter though, truth or not, because in less than a week, Queen Elsa was going to learn her mistakes the hard way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta readers, Mig and rd.
> 
> Sorry for the huge gap in updating. I just got caught up in stuff and things just snowballed from there. The good news is that I'm well caught up now and the next update should be arriving shortly. With Winter Break arriving, I should be putting out chapters fairly regularly.
> 
> I'll say this again just in case anyone is still confused, but Norway in this story is still part of Sweden-Norway so technically the nationalists want to be ruled by the Swedish. Norway is pretty autonomous, so as long as they get their united Norway, they're okay with it. If you have a question, please feel free to ask. There are no stupid questions, except for the stupid ones.
> 
> Thanks for reading and please keep reviewing.


	22. Attack on Arendelle

The princess had been awoken from her deep sleep by a commotion outside her door. Anna's sleep-hazed mind took a few seconds to adjust, but in the process had forgotten what had actually awoken her. When she noticed that it was still far too early for her to be awake, she collapsed back into her pillow and quickly fell back asleep.

When her door was kicked in not several minutes later, Anna bolted upright without any hesitation...and found herself looking down the barrel of a rifle. Despite the screamed commands, panic, and surprise that was assaulting her mind, the only thing Anna's thoughts focused on at the initial moment was the familiar face and uniform that stood at the opposite end of that gun.

* * *

Elsa walked alone along the western shore of the fjord as a young sun started to peak above the hidden horizon. It was very early in the morning and most of Arendelle was asleep. At least that was what Elsa thought.

It wasn't common for Elsa to go on early morning walks especially alone. She was the only one around for miles, she was indeed secluded, away from most residents and outside the old walls that surrounded the city. Elsa was an early riser, but she rose early to do work. Never this. This was something that Elise did-wake up early and sneak out from under the guard's eyes for an hour or two for a secluded walk in the wilderness.

Elsa had figured it was therapeutic for her, which was why Elise had insisted she try the same. Elsa found herself secretly agreeing as she waded barefoot through the calm water's edge, it was indeed calming, but at the same time it was hard not to be a little on edge. Nonetheless Elsa had agreed to try this out and in exchange, Elise was to take over the early morning inspection of the American ice ships with Admiral Hoffman. It had been a last minute decision, something literally thought up of as a solution to a disagreement between the two twins just last night.

Technically, Elsa was supposed to be the one to fill the ships with her magic later that afternoon so it only made sense that Elsa be the one to look them over, so she knew what to be prepared for. However, as Elise had put it last night, they were supposed to be able to work as a single unit which meant she should be able to rely on Elise's judgment completely, including relying on Elise's report to prepare Elsa for the upcoming ceremony. Elsa already trusted Elise's judgment though, but she figured this was some kind of reassurance for Elise that Elsa really did. So here Elsa was 'taking the morning off' while Elise went to see what Elsa faced later this afternoon.

That was until Elsa heard the set of gunshots coming from within Arendelle's perimeter. The shoreline had brought Elsa to the other side of a hill, but even over the obstacle Elsa could hear the rising commotion of a crowd and the occasional sound of firearm discharges.

_What's going on? Elise? Anna?_

With the thought of her two sisters' safety at the forefront of her mind, Elsa made a mad dash back toward the castle, leaving a trail of ice in her wake.

* * *

The two American Marines that had been sitting on the hill overlooking Arendelle had been watching the chaos unfold for most of the morning. As soon as word of the incident with the Guards and nationalists from the night before reached their consulate, they had been dispatched to keep an eye on the situation and report back when they got a clear picture of what was going on. Lieutenant Jacobs and the Sergeant didn't have to worry about getting back in this commotion, not after spending almost an entire year living in Arendelle, first with Captain Hill and then with US Minister Herbert as security for the new American consulate.

They were ready to wrap up their observations when Sergeant Conners poked the lieutenant in the side.

"Is that who I think it is?" he whispered, pointing towards the shoreline by the town's edge.

There was no mistaking that sparkling blue dress and that bright platinum hair. It was Queen Elsa. All alone.

"What do you suppose she's doing out here on her own like that?" the sergeant asked.

Jacobs thought about it for a moment. It was odd to see the queen outside the castle walls, with no guards, and the beginnings of civil unrest taking place. The scattered reports they had received were suggesting erratic behavior among the Royal Guard units too. It was very peculiar, however...

"It's none of our concern," Jacobs whispered back.

"Suppose Herbert is right though, that this is some kind of coup? Minister Herbert said himself that it would be beneficial to our interests for the current administration to remain intact," Conners argued.

"He also ordered us not to get involved," Jacobs quickly pointed out.

"That doesn't mean we can't tail her. We'll probably learn more that way. Something tells me this is all just a distraction anyway," the sergeant observed.

_Dammit, Conners, that makes too much sense._

"Alright, fine," Jacobs conceded. They really weren't learning much from up here anyway and they already confirmed that Shaw's cargo ships at the docks were safe. "We'll follow her and hopefully get to the bottom of this mess once and for all."

*break*

Foreign Minister Hansen walked through the castle corridors for the first time. Well, it wasn't the first time he'd walked these halls, but it was the first time doing so as the one in charge. The morning was already in full swing and his forces had already taken complete control of the castle.

Surprise had been key and as a result only a handful of casualties were reported and almost no observance from the outside. All the castle staff had been rounded up and placed under guard and the loyal guards that remained had been quickly overwhelmed.

By their own brethren of course. None of this would have been possible if Hansen hadn't gained the support of the Royal Guard. The crown's own personal guard had been their downfall all along.

It hadn't been hard. The opening of the gates and the incident during Queen Elsa's coronation had called for the mass training of more guardsmen, as well as the purging of its existing ranks that were blamed for the multiple failures on that fateful day over a year ago. It wasn't Queen Elsa's hand that laid down punishment on the Royal Guard though, but the Chancellor himself who the queen had given oversight over the Guard. Chancellor Jakobsen was not pleased with the Guards performance during those days and the Guard was left demoralized and broken by the time he was done with it. That coupled with the influx of new members made it surprisingly easy to turn on the crown.

Thankfully, the Chancellor as well as the Ministers of Agriculture, Commerce, and the Treasury themselves were all under guard in the conference room. Princess Anna had been taken a few hours earlier and dragged off to the dungeons kicking and screaming. She had been hysterical ever since. He had given strict orders that she was not to be touched and Hansen would personally make sure any one that did would suffer a grievous death. He knew how much the people loved their princess and if the populace were to find out she was harmed in anyway, there'd be hell to pay.

The only thing left now was to deal with the other two...

A guardsmen quickly approached Hansen, his look conveyed grave news.

"We have a problem, sir," the guard reported.

"Spit it out, soldier," Hansen ordered.

"Queen Elsa is not at the docks with Admiral Hoffman. It seems Queen Elise had taken her place. Queen Elsa's location is currently unknown," the guard said deadpanned, probably not understanding the seriousness of the situation. "The team assembled to take down Queen Elise has been asking for orders, sir."

Hansen feared something bad would happen. His only assurance in the moment was that it was nothing that was his own or his men's fault, just a complete piece of chance. Actually...

"That party left hours ago, before we secured the castle! It would be impossible for anyone not to notice that they switched! Why the hell did no one report this to me before?" Hansen demanded.

The soldier seemed un-phased by Hansen's outburst and was quick to answer. "Sir, the entire castle has been cutoff from communication with the outside since the Queen's party left, as per your orders, sir," the guard pointed out. "We only just found this out."

_Damn, he's right. The castle was supposed to be cutoff from the moment the Queen's party left for the docks until we secured it. And the guards that were with them couldn't do anything either without giving themselves away._

"Guard, send word to the team meant for Queen Elise and order them to hunt down and capture Queen Elsa. She is not to be killed, is that understand?" Hansen ordered. _They should be already on the move looking for her anyway._

"Yes, sir," the guard responded with a salute. "What about the docks though, sir?" the guard quickly asked as her turned to go.

Hansen did a quick time check with his pocket watch. _Too late._

"There's no point trying to change their plans now. It's already begun."

* * *

Elise was getting annoyed. She was spending too much time on these ships listening to this Mr. George Shaw talk about his ice trade and his 'state of the art' ice ships. However, Elise had made a promise to Elsa that she would give her a reliable report, so she'd made sure to pay attention to every detail.

They were just emerging from out of the hold of the last ship when the sound of nearby gunfire startled the entire party. But no one was overly surprised, there had been a commotion going on all morning and Elise and Admiral Hoffman had been very aware of the situation. Elise wanted nothing more than to run back to the castle to find out what was going on, but she had faith that Elsa was handling it. Not to mention, leaving too soon would tip people off that something was wrong. It was best to keep things as calm as possible.

Things weren't getting better though. In fact, things had gotten so bad that Elise was starting to doubt they were even going to be able to hold this ceremony tonight. What had started as a small commotion was becoming a full scale riot. More of a concern was the increasingly frequent, but still distant gunfire.

_I need to get back to the castle now._

Elise hoped that Elsa knew what she was doing, but whatever she was doing didn't seem to be working. Thankfully, the increased guard presence that had shown up while they had been in the hold proved that Elsa was doing something at least. That gave Elise some reassurance.

"Some of that gunfire sounds like it's coming from our coastal defenses," one of Admiral Hoffman's junior officers in the party commented, but the admiral seemed to ignore it.

Elise took notice herself that the gunfire was coming from points of vital interest. Her worry was becoming panic. She was going to gather up these guards and head to the castle right away.

That was until a hand forcefully gripped her arm halfway down the gangplank. Elise winced in pain and was about to freeze the hand solid when the admiral whispered into her ear without stopping the party's decent. "Something's not right here."

"I can tell, Admiral," Elise hissed back as she tried to tactfully wiggle out of his grip. A years-worth of royal training was telling her to scold the man for manhandling his queen, but another part of her paid no mind.

"No," he whispered, "I mean here."

By now they had reached the bottom of the plank and that's when Elise finally noticed it. The new guards weren't surrounding her to keep her and her party protected. They were surrounding her to keep them in.

"Shit," Elise swore at the same time one of the junior officers started to pull his sword. It only reached halfway before Hoffman held up his hand to stop him.

Elise wondered why until she noticed all but a few of her party's own guards turn on them by joining the encirclement. By now, the group of enemy guards were raising their weapons at Elise and her small group of naval officers, mostly staff and aides to the admiral.

Elise held up her hands for combat. A year ago, Elise would have thought she could take them and win with no problem. But now, with the thought of losing Elsa and Anna or them losing her, Elise wasn't so confident. Not to mention, she deeply cared about protecting the men with her as well, who had already drawn their weapons to defend their queen. She might have been able to defend herself, but defend herself and her men?

Her hands balled into fists as they started to glow blue.

* * *

George Shaw stood on the deck of one of his prized invention as he watched the standoff unfold below him. Dozens of guards armed with rifles surrounded a small group of naval officers armed with only a few single shot pistols and swords. It would be a slaughter. Of course there was the ice sorceress, Queen Elise, but George wasn't really sure how well she could fight or what her powers could do. He just knew her and her sister could create ice.

Nonetheless, George had invested too much in this project of his to let it fall apart to political squabbles. Queen Elise may not have been the ice sorceress that was supposed to fill his ships, but she still could and there was no guarantee Queen Elsa was even still alive judging by the developing situation. He was not going to lose his investment.

"Men!" he yelled out in plain English to the crew who had gathered on the deck, "to arms!"

* * *

Elise was briefly aware of the commotion behind and above her as she tried to gauge the situation. She could theoretically protect the group from most of the attacks, but there was a few she knew she wouldn't be able to block in time. The only other option was to save herself and let her own men die.

_That's not an option._  
  
Seconds continued to tick by. The standoff continued for far longer than Elise was expecting it to. It was almost as if they were hesitating, but why?

_Wait, I know. They weren't expecting me, they were expecting Elsa. That means we have the advantage, if any. If I can strike first..._  
  
But before she could make her move, the whole place lit up with gunfire. Instantly, Elise threw up a barrier that would protect her group and winced as she braced herself for the intense pain of getting shot or the darkness of death.

_I'm so sorry, Elsa. I love you._

But nothing happened. Elise spun around and found the guards that had her worried were all dead. Her eyes trailed up the hull of the ship at their back and to the smoke coming off the deck.

_The crew was firing at the guards?_

"It's show time," Elise announced as she held up her hands. There was a distinct boom off in the distance.

"Get down!" screamed the admiral.

Elise never got the chance to fight back. All she saw was Admiral Hoffman tackle her to the ground as her ice wall splintered in a shower of shards in front of her. She blacked out when she hit the ground.

* * *

Elsa had made her return to the castle quickly. She had arrived just in time to witness the first couple of guards get murdered by their own compatriots. Elsa had never seen such acts of violence and death and it caused her to quickly empty the contents of her stomach into the fjord. From her hidden vantage point at the secret entrance Elise had shown her (how Elise had discovered this entrance in less than a year and Anna not in nineteen years was still a mystery to her), Elsa sat in stunned silence as she tried to figure out what to do next.

She wanted to use the secret entrance to gain access to the castle and force her way to Anna. But she was scared of what she might encounter and a part of her refused to let the instinct take over again. So far that animalistic instinct Elsa had felt in times like this had only made things worse. Her hands trembled at the thought of taking another person's life after witnessing what she just did. It held her back and brought her to tears as she trembled on the literal edge of fight and flight.

It wasn't just for emotional reasons but there were also logical ones not to engage. From what Elsa observed, the assailants had come from _within_ the castle walls and there was no signs of activity outside the castle walls. That meant Elsa would be entering alone in a castle presumably already secured by the enemy. Logically, it was also smarter to go look for Elise and go from there. Together they were stronger and they could come up with an actual plan.

With shaky steps and tears still flowing down her cheeks, Elsa started off towards the docks. She tried to tell herself it was the right thing to do, but all Elsa could think of was that she was abandoning Anna. Elsa refused to acknowledge that anything worse than capture was going to happen to her younger sister. To think otherwise would have meant bowing down to the urge of instinct.

She knew she wasn't going to be able to head straight there, nor would she be able to be rely on her guards. They had obviously been compromised, so Elsa was going to have to avoid them just to be safe, that and the fact she was scared of what she might do should she encounter them. In the back of her mind she was confident that Elise would be able to hold her own against any of the traitors.

Fortunately, Elsa knew the city layout very well from her books and maps. Unfortunately, studying maps didn't translate well into actually navigating the city in person. Elsa wasn't experienced enough, but the men that had quickly caught onto her tail were. It turned out that the team meant to kill Elise had not awaited for orders from the closed off castle, instead choosing to pursue Elsa on their own accord when they spotted her trying to make her way to the docks.

Elsa had already spent the rest of the morning trying to evade capture and her inexperienced knowledge of the town was showing. She quickly became aware of two things. For one, these guys knew what they were doing. They were outsmarting Elsa at almost every turn and her powers were the only thing keeping her from falling into one of their traps. They were also doing their best to keep her from heading towards the docks or back to the castle.

Secondly though, they didn't appear to be trying to kill her outright. Elsa noted a few examples when some of them had a clear shot on her, but didn't take it. Elsa figured they wanted to entrap her, which meant they probably wanted her alive. Over time, Elsa had also come to the conclusion that Anna was still alive. It was part wishful thinking, but logically it made sense. If they wanted to capture Elsa alive, the easiest way was to use Anna against her. Anna had to be alive for that to work.

By noon though, Elsa was exhausted and she was getting nowhere. She'd been playing cat and mouse with these people for hours and there was no letting up. The noise surrounding the city was growing louder with rowdy crowds, gunshots, and even the occasional cannon. The air smelled of smoke from burning buildings and black powder. From her occasional vantage points, Elsa could see a city in chaos. She had been trapped in a nicer part of town where most of the people decided to hole up in the homes rather than venture out and cause a ruckus. There had been no signs of Elise anywhere. No spikes, giant walls of ice, or any signs of winter weather. Elsa had caught glimpse of one of the American ice ships burning at the docks and it made her heart sink. Elsa was losing hope, but she had to stay alive and avoid capture for Anna even if Elise was already...

_No, Elise is fine, I know it. She had to be fine. She's just hiding..._

Elsa planted herself against a wall in a back ally and panted as she tried to catch her breath.

_I need to get out of here. But how? These people are just too good._

At that point, Elsa didn't really know where she was supposed to be going since Elise was obviously no longer where she thought she would be. Earlier, Elsa had considered using her powers to elevate herself above the buildings and go straight to the docks. That, however, would have alerted the entire city of her presence and would had made herself a perfect target. Elsa was still not completely convinced they weren't trying to kill her nor did that mean there weren't other people out there trying to kill her. She ultimately decided not to do it.

The option was out of the question now that Elsa had nowhere to go and she regretted not doing it earlier. At this point she was trying to avoid capture and using her powers like that would alert everyone. And of course, killing was still out of the equation. She just couldn't bring herself to do it.

_Where should I go? Wait, I can go to the trolls. They might be able to help. But wait, if Elise got out, she wouldn't go to the trolls, she'd go the ice palace. I could go there and see if she made it. Then where though? Trondheim? Or to the continent? I need to find out what's going on first..._

Elsa's thoughts were cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps. She backed up farther against the wall behind her and dropped pulling her legs up to her chest and hoping the shadows would protect her. Elsa took a deep breath and dissipated the cold temperature that her shot nerves had been creating all morning. She could hear the clanging of gear as, probably two men, approached the entrance of the alley.

"Come on, she's not here." Elsa heard and then there was shuffling of feet and the footsteps faded away. Elsa exhaled the breath she'd been holding and the ambient temperature started to drop again. At least she had been able to keep herself from trailing ice again.

Elsa timidly scooted towards the edge of the alley. She was proud of herself for choosing this one, it didn't have any obvious hiding spots and the corner she hid in didn't appear to be there from the outside. There was a spark of hope that Elsa had finally gotten out of these bastard's net.

Elsa peered over the edges of the deserted street. She checked both directions. _Clear._

Elsa cursed when she rounded the corner at the same moment a group of armed men did from down the street. She turned back down her alley...and found another pair waiting for her at the opposite end.

Elsa bolted out of the alley and into the street. She just rounded the corner when she found herself staring down the barrels of three armed men.

Where the hell did they come from?

Before she could even hold up her hands, a door burst open from a house behind her and more armed men came out. She spotted more men training rifles at her from the rooftops. She was trapped.

"Stay back!" Elsa yelled, holding up her hands defensively. "You don't know what I'm capable of!"

Her thoughts raced back to the guards she'd seen killed earlier that morning. Her magic twitched at her finger tips as the vision of watching them die fought with her desire to kill. What really held her back though, was the threat against Anna that Elsa was expecting to be used to subdue her any moment now.

Her whole body trembled from exhaustion as she counted the seconds go by as the armed men got fully in position. Even now she doubted she could take them all on before at least one got to her. She should have just killed them immediately.

_M-maybe I should just let them take me._

**BANG!**

A gunshot rang out. Ice exploded from Elsa's poised hands out of reflex. She never saw the after effects as she slammed her eyes shut in the same moment. Elsa wanted to cry out to her parents, to Elise, to Anna, but she knew she was never going to have the chance. She waited for death.

"Move!"

Instead she was grabbed by the arm and pulled hard. And fast. She was pulled the first few feet, but quickly realized what was going on. Someone was running and trying to pull her along. Elsa let her feet go to work and ran with whoever it was. Her muscles ached, but she kept going, letting whoever was pulling her lead the way. They stopped a moment later and Elsa was deposited by the side of a building wall. She didn't even attempt to stay up and slid down trying to catch her breath.

_Move_ , Elsa thought to herself. _Move?_

Elsa's eyes finally flew open when she realized that had been said in English, not Norwegian.

Elsa never got the chance to find out was going on when a man dressed in civilian clothes pulled her up off the ground.

"Let's go," he commanded once more in English. Elsa let him take her by the hand and they started running again. There was so much pain that Elsa could barely pay attention to what her eyes were seeing. They stopped again, this time hiding behind the side of a house and Elsa finally took the time to find out what was going while she caught her breath. The first thing she noticed was the blood trailing down her arm. Then the intense pain in that arm. There was a large gash-from a bullet grazing perhaps?-in her upper arm. She slapped her hand over it and froze it. It stopped bleeding.

The next thing was to find out about this man, but Elsa was caught off guard as another man rounded the corner, pointed a rifle back in the direction he came and fired. Elsa threw her hands up to her ears at the resulting sound.

"Take her and go," the first man ordered again in his native tongue. Elsa hadn't realized until now that he had been reloading a rifle while Elsa attended to her wound. The second man grabbed her arm and they were off.

Elsa was starting to regain her bearing, but she still had no idea where she was being taken. The two men continued their leap-frog tactic several more times and Elsa was grateful to the small rests. She finally recognized who they were as well. They were those Americans that were stationed with the consulate. Elsa couldn't ever forget them.

_The ones that had saved Anna from that ship._  
  
That fact alone made Elsa trust them more than anything.

"We're almost there, your majesty," her current guide said, this time in Norwegian. Before, Elsa could speak, the second rounded the corner and fired. Elsa had the smart sense to plug her ears with snow by the second rest.

This time though, they both ditched their weapons and took off with Elsa in tow. Elsa dared a look behind her and she saw her attackers were right on their tail. Elsa could barely keep her own two feet moving, let alone summon any amount of magic the stop them, as much as she wanted to. She was too week and injured.

Looking back had been a bad idea. Elsa tripped over her own feet and went sprawling out of the grip of her rescuers. She landed on the ground with a hard thud.

Elsa tried to get up, but her injured arm couldn't support itself anymore and she fell back down. She looked back again and found her attackers almost on top of her. Her eyes widened as they stopped short.

The glint of metal above her caught her attention. She looked up and found a uniformed man pointing a bayoneted rifle at her attackers. He wasn't one of the two that had recurred her. Nor were the other ones. They were Americans. Which meant...

"Take one more step and I'll end you," the uniformed man spat in very poor Norwegian.

Elsa whirled back around. _The American consulate._

"This here is our fugitive and none of your concern," one of her attackers commanded. Elsa turned to look at him, there was already a gathering crowed of armed men. "Hand her over now or we will come and take her."

"You will do no such thing," Elsa whirled back around again and found the American Minister to the Kingdom of Arendelle, Alexander Herbert, approaching from the building. "Take one step onto this property and that's a declaration of war against the United States of America."

He walked over Elsa and slammed the gates shut. It wasn't enough to keep anyone out, but none of the attackers made a move. Elsa allowed herself to smile as Minister Herbert ordered the guards to carry her inside.

As she was carried in, the leader of her attackers yelled across the courtyard. "Just so you know, bitch, we have your brat sister. If you turn yourself in, no harm will come to her."

Elsa smiled even more. That was the best news she heard all day.

* * *

General Holt entered the conference room with a purpose. He stopped short when he only spotted Minister Hansen and the Captain of the Guard sitting at the deserted table.

"Where is everyone?" the general asked.

"The dungeons," Hansen quickly replied. The general raised his eyebrow. "Ministers Vinter and Nielson promptly spat in my face before I could even finish the proposal. Minister Ostberg was more considerate, but he decided to join his other two colleges as well. I should have asked them separately."

"We could have used their expertise, but it is no big deal. What about the others?" the general questioned.

"The Chancellor and Princess Anna have been in dungeons all day," Hansen replied. "How are things in the city?"

"Excellent. We have secured the city. All royalist forces have been rounded up or killed. Only a few were able to escape. All coastal defenses and installations have been taken intact and my people are currently taking up the process of integrating the nationalist militias under my command. Their leader had been conveniently killed in battle. That's one less loose end to worry about," the general reported.

"Now that we've secured the castle and city, my guards are beginning to contain the rioters," the Captain of the Guard spoke up. "The good news is that they're already starting to settle down."

No one else spoke as all three knew what topic was up next. General Holt took it upon himself to take a seat. Minister Hansen continued to sip from the drink in front of him.

"So, what happened?" Holt finally asked. Hansen remained silent. The Captain of the Guard took it upon himself to answer.

"The two queens decided to switch up on us. It was only a minor inconvenience. The team assembled to take down Queen Elise spotted Queen Elsa and moved to take her down without orders. My guards at the docks could have taken down Queen Elise, until the Americans got involved."

"Is that why that ship was burning?" the general asked.

"They ambushed her as she exited the ship. For some God forsaken reason the crew decided to defend the queen and her party. We could have killed her with ease if they hadn't gotten involved. Naturally, we continued the assault on the ship and burned it. The other ships have been interned. Admiral Hoffman and Queen Elise disappeared during the firefight and we haven't been able to locate either. We can only assume they escaped out to sea," the captain answered.

"What about Queen Elsa?"

"The fucking Americans again," Hansen spat before taking another drink.

"Yes, we had her trapped, but some American fucks pulled her out and brought her to their consulate. They pulled diplomatic immunity," the captain explained.

"Well, fuck it, send our forces in," the general exclaimed.

"Attacking that consulate is an act of war and thankfully our people on the ground there had some common sense to back off," Hansen argued. They had already burned one American flagged ship and interned four others. If they attacked that consulate now, there was no doubt there would be open war with the United States. The Swedes would drop their support immediately. If that happened, Hansen fully expected the Prussians and Danes to come knocking next.

"We have the place surrounded though. She's trapped in there. She might as well be detained," the captain reassured. "And for all we know, Queen Elise is dead. There was no use of her powers after the initial salvo."

"Either way, we still have Princess Anna to use against them," Hansen pointed. "We can keep Elsa trapped in their consulate and if Elise decided to show back up, we'll use Anna against her."

The other two men nodded in agreement.

"Come on," Hansen said as he got up, "there is still much to be done and the day is still young."

* * *

The sun was starting to set. Elsa could see it from the parlor window, but barely noticed it.

"Eat something, darling," the old women suggested. "You need your strength."

Elsa smiled up at Minister Herbert's wife, who had taken care of her and cleaned her up since she was brought here. Even cleaned and bandaged her arm. Elsa had no appetite though, but she decided to eat out of respect. The woman reminded her of Gerda.

_Oh, please be okay, Gerda._

The woman sensed Elsa's mood change and soothed her. "Everything's going to be okay, darling," she whispered into Elsa's ear. It would have been inappropriate to say that out loud with the other men in the parlor with them. Elsa was a leader, she couldn't show weakness.

Minister Herbert was pacing around the room. The two marines that had saved her were present as well, clean and refreshed themselves. She had already thanked them multiple times throughout the afternoon.

Since she had arrived, Elsa had learned what was going. Last night there had been an incident involving the crackdown of nationalist dissenters. Her guards had been ambushed and their response resulted in the death of multiple civilians, children included. It seemed to have sparked civil unrest that was only now beginning to calm down. Everything came together too perfectly.

They had all agreed it was an inside job. That incident had been a setup, as well as the morning riots. First of all, neither Elsa nor Elise had been informed of the incident that morning. She should have been informed during the night. Second of all, the reports from the Marines and Elsa's own observations concluded that her entire Royal Guard had been compromised, including the Captain of the Guard himself. That explained how the incident was orchestrated. The bastard probably sacrificed loyal guards and civilians for his false flag. There was no way he could have pulled this off by himself though. Elsa suspected General Holt was in on it as well. He had to have been, they were both good friends and his army units had never came to her rescue.

Elsa wasn't sure about anyone else, even the Chancellor himself, with the exception of Admiral Hoffman. She wanted to believe Chancellor Jacobsen wasn't involved, but she couldn't be sure. She knew Admiral Hoffman was on her side though. Otherwise they wouldn't have planned this for when her entire fleet was off at Trondheim.

That was all they knew, except that whoever was leading this coup had the city and castle under their control. The only other tidbit information that they had received before Elsa arrived and the consulate cutoff was that the American ice ships had been interned and one had been burned.

The observer hadn't had a great view, but took no notice of any ice. Elsa had taken that news silently, but asked to be alone, where she grieved for a few hours. If Elise was there, there should have been ice and snow everywhere otherwise if she would have surrendered, there wouldn't have been such a huge fight.

Elsa had already accepted that Elise was more than likely dead. But now she had to stay strong for Anna. Only when Anna was safely in her arms would she really grieve for her sister. For her lover. A single, silent tear rode down Elsa's cheek.

"Are you sure you can get me out?" Elsa asked, her stern voice cutting through the silence.

"Of course," Lieutenant Jacobs answered. "I helped design the escape tunnel myself. Sergeant Conners and I can have you out by tonight if that's what you want."

Elsa had also learned, during the construction of the consulate last winter, the Americans incorporated a secret tunnel to get in or out in situations exactly like this.

"It is. Can you guarantee me safe passage to Hamburg?" Elsa asked. "It's imperative I can there and seek help from our allies."

"We'll get you where you need to go," Jacobs said. "We can leave in the early morning. We'll go start preparing, but I suggest you get some sleep now. You won't be able to get a good night's sleep until we hit Hamburg. Your majesty."

The two marines left the parlor. After grieving then getting cleaned up, they had discussed what to do next. This is what Elsa had decided. There was no point going to her ice palace if Elise wasn't coming. There was no point going to the trolls either, there was nothing they could do now that Elsa had thought about it with a clearer head. At the most, they could shelter Olaf and Kristoff, who Elsa was grateful for that they were outside of the city this week. That man was smart enough to go to them first, before trying to re-enter the city. Maybe he could get Anna out too?

Elsa could have gone to Trondheim where her loyal naval forces were currently stationed too, but she knew they weren't enough to take back Arendelle. She needed land forces. Plus Trondheim was to the north. Elsa needed to go south and she didn't know what to expect there regardless. She had to assume she had lost control of all of Arendelle. She would send word to Trondheim as soon as she reached Hamburg. In the meantime, she was confident Admiral Hoffman's second-in-command (she assumed Admiral Hoffman was also dead) who was in charge of the forces there knew what to do if he still had control. He would lie low and wait, maybe even raise an army of his own until he received word.

"I can't thank you enough, Minister Herbert, for taking me in and allowing your men to take me to Hamburg. I owe you my life. I will be forever in your debt. You and everyone in this consulate," Elsa declared.

"This was a difficult decision to make for the consequences it will cause, but I will never forget who our friends are nor does this nation," Herbert responded. "I am confident I have made the right choice though."

Elsa stood up to go. The Minister had stopped pacing to stare out the window. The city was dark now, except for the lanterns of the soldiers that had set up camp in the blockade around the consulate. He was staring at them intently. Earlier he had assured Elsa that they would never dare to attack them, even after if they learned Elsa had snuck out. Elsa wanted to believe.

"When you reach Hamburg, contact a fellow by the name of Henry Wheaton He will need to know what happened here. Now, off to bed with you, you need your sleep."

Elsa knew she wouldn't be sleeping tonight.

"Thank you again and goodbye, Mr. Herbert," Elsa said as she turned to leave the room.

Before she could get out, she heard Minister Herbert speak one more time. "You are a special girl, Elsa of Arendelle, Don't ever forget that. You will do great things. Godspeed and good luck."

* * *

Elise groaned as she turned over in her cot. Her initial thought was of her pounding head and the faint ringing in her ears. There was also a light rocking that was lulling her back to sleep.

_Where am I? What's going on?_

Her memory returned to her like a crashing wave. Elise flew up as she tried to gauge her surroundings. She was no longer at the docks, but in a small dark cabin that was...swaying?

Yes, Elise felt it now, the floor was swaying.

_I'm not at the docks, but that doesn't mean I'm out of danger yet._

Elise stormed out of the cabin and into a barren hallway. The fact that her door wasn't locked didn't cross her mind. She continued to follow it until it led to a set of stairs. The whole feel of the place was that of a ship and the swaying floor seemed to confirm that hypothesis. At the top of the stairs was a door and Elise could hear activity on the other side.

Elise prepared herself and flew open the door. She stepped out onto the busy deck of a ship, a small blizzard at her back, ready to fight. The men on the deck stopped what they were doing and stared at Elise in awe. Elise noted that none of them had been speaking Norwegian. They were on the open ocean and the sky was black.

"Queen Elise? Thank God you're awake," came the voice of Admiral Hoffman from above. Elise turned around and confirmed him coming down a flight of stairs alongside another man. "We have much to discuss and I bet you're wondering where we are."

Elise nodded and suddenly felt very venerable as her blizzard dissipated into fallen snow. She was only wearing a large shirt that went down to her knees. Very indecent in front of all these men.

_I'm very confused._

Elise was surprised though when Hoffman ran up to her and pulled her into a tight embrace. And she also recognized the other man with him.

"Is that-is that Captain Hill?" she asked.

The captain smiled. "It is indeed and welcome to the _USS Potomac_."

* * *

Anna was barely awake when she heard the sound at her window. She had spent the first half of the day hysterical and only reached the point of light sniffling a few short hours ago when she could sob no more. She didn't even know if her sisters were alive or not (the guards told her they were dead, but she didn't believe them), so it came as a great surprise when Anna looked out the window and found Olaf standing there with a smile on his face. After crying tears of joy she thought she didn't have, she quickly got down to business.

"How did you get here, Olaf?" Anna asked. Anna's only assurance throughout the day was that Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf had been out of town.

"The secret way of course," the snowman replied.

"Is Kristoff with you, is he okay? What about my sisters? Are they okay? I need to know, Olaf, are they okay?" Anna started to beg.

"Whoa, Anna, slow down. Too many questions at once," the snowman said. "Kristoff is okay, he was the one who sent me. He sends his regards, for some reason he couldn't fit through my special hole in the wall."

"What about Elsa and Elise?"

"Also he told me to tell you that he's going to go to the trolls for help," Olaf continued without answering her question. "He's going to use me to smuggle whatever you need; charms, crystals, food, medicine, anything you need to keep you strong until we find a way to get you out." There was a pause. "Yay, I did it. Kristoff made me memorize those words exactly. It took like two hours, oh Anna, you should have been there it was..."

"Olaf, focus please," Anna pleaded. "What about Elsa and Elise?"

The snowman remained silent as his smile faded. "I'm sorry, Anna. We don't know what happened to them...but I'm sure everything's going to be okay."

* * *

Elise wolfed down a very unappetizing meal as Admiral Hoffman and Captain Hill explained what had gone down while Elise had been knocked out. She had also changed into something a little more decent in the meantime.

The American crew of that ice ship and Elise's ice barrier and bought Admiral Hoffman and his officers enough time to escape with an unconscious Elise during that ambush on the docks. Fearing that the entire Royal Guard was compromised, Admiral Hoffman and his men commandeered a dinghy and got Elise out of Arendelle. Their observations on the way confirmed that not only the guard, but General Holt's forces, had been compromised.

The _USS Potomac_ happened to be in the fjord at the time, had picked them up, and Captain Hill had agreed to take them to Trondheim. It had taken shelter in the fjord to await the return of the ice ships that it was going to escort back to America. The fact that the ship was here and in the command of Captain Hill himself had been one major coincidence that Elise greatly appreciated. She was a little spectacle, but his story that he had requested a command back to Arendelle was believable. He had been working on his Norwegian too it seemed.

There had been no word on the condition of Elsa and Anna however. Elise didn't want to hear any of that. She realized that that ambush had actually been meant for Elsa.

"We have to go back," Elise demanded.

"Absolutely not, your majesty. We don't have a clear picture of what's going on yet. And you heard the captain, they won't be able to help us," the admiral argued. "There's only the five of us." There had been more before they left the docks.

"My sisters are there. I need to make sure they are okay!" Elise yelled.

"Elise," Hoffman said in a reassuring voice, "I know you're worried, but you have to have faith in them. Elsa is a strong woman and so is Anna. They'll be okay, but if they need our help, running back in blind won't do anything."

Elise thought over it for a few minutes. She conceded.

"Fine. You're right," Elise admitted.

"Good, Captain Hill will get us to Trondheim and..."

"No," Elise suddenly cut him off as she got an idea. "Change course, we need to go to Hamburg."

"But the fleet..."

"The fleet will be fine and we can send them instructions as soon as possible. I also have ways to check on the status of them and Arendelle so we won't be out of the loop for long. But we need to go to Hamburg first before we can go back to Trondheim. We need to contact our allies. If it is true that General Holt and the Royal Guard are behind this, then our fleet won't be much help, especially if they have the coastal defenses secured. We need help," Elise explained. "Plus, if Elsa escaped, I know that's where she would go too."

"Very good point, your majesty," Hoffman agreed. "Elsa and Anna are going to be okay. I have faith."

At that moment, Elise really learned what faith really meant. She had to believe.

_I'll come back for you Elsa and Anna._

"Now excuse me, this will require a lot of concentration that I don't really have at the moment," Elise said as she got up and left to find a secluded part of the ship.

"What's she mean?" Captain Hill asked as Elise left.

Admiral Hoffman shrugged.

As the _USS Potomac_ changed course to the south, Elise eventually found her inner peace in the storm of emotions that plagued her mind. Several hours later, snowflakes danced around the night sky of the cities of Arendelle and Trondheim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta readers, rd and mig.
> 
> Btw, naming one of the antagonists Hans(en) was completely coincidental.
> 
> Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your reviews. Remember to ask if you have any.


	23. Reunion in Hamburg

Elise paced around the room as panic started to set it. Frost coated the latest letter that was crumpled in her grasped hand as Admiral Hoffman shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

No one was coming to Arendelle's aid. They hadn't even been in Hamburg two weeks and their mission had been a complete failure. Not the Prussians, not the Austrians, not the Danes, not a single German state was going to come to Arendelle's aid. Not even Corona would make a move without their Prussian master's approval. The only positive note was that the First Mayor of Hamburg had housed them and allowed them to take refuge for the time being.

All their excuses had been the same. No one wanted to get involved in a potential war with Sweden. Sweden hadn't claimed responsibility for the coup, but they sure had started flexing their muscles urging the rest of Europe not to get involved as soon as it started. It was obvious Sweden had been involved behind the scenes, but no one wanted to risk a conflict.

The Danes even had the nerve to write that Arendelle's mere existence was after all, a violation of the Treat of Kiel. Elise was furious.

"We could always try Russia," the admiral suggested nervously.

Elise sneered at him. "Don't be an idiot, the Russians won't get involved. We'd be wasting our time."

"Then perhaps we should be returning to Trondheim?" the admiral suggested. It had only been Elise, Admiral Hoffman, and a few of his officers ever since they had arrived. They had been working nonstop since arriving to gather support. Hoffman had never shown signs of optimism. Deep down, neither had Elise. She might as well have been here for different reasons completely, which she was.

"No, not until my sister has returned," Elise declared. Ever since Elise had started sending out her snowflake spies on that first night, she had been unable to locate Elsa. That was a good thing though, because it meant Elsa was trying not to be found which meant she was neither dead nor captured.

Admiral Hoffman didn't argue. The one thing he had learned in the past days alone with Queen Elise was not to get between her and Queen Elsa period.

Elise crumpled the rest of the letter and threw it against the wall in frustration, leaving a dent that caused the admiral to wince. It had been a solid ball of ice by the time it reached the wall.

Hoffman was ready to lecture her on respecting the property of one's host when the door to their makeshift office flew open. Admiral Hoffman jumped to his feet.

Elise stared in disbelief.

Elsa stood in the doorway, dirt smudged on her face, her hair disheveled, and her eyes sullen. She looked more like an innocent peasant girl in her simple commoner clothes than a royal. But there was no mistaking Queen Elsa of Arendelle, not with her brilliant platinum blonde hair and the regal way she carried herself.

Elsa and Elise screamed simultaneously as they flung themselves into each other's arms. They hugged, they cried, and they held each other. Admiral Hoffman watched his beloved Queen Elise break down in her twin's arms as the weight she had held was let loose. It was a beautiful reunion of two sisters. Except it was very...unsisterly like.

Hoffman had refused to believe before. There was no denying it now.

_What a strange family this is indeed._

So the rumors had been true all along. Admiral Hoffman didn't care either way.

*break*

"Elsy, it's okay I'm back now," Elsa cooed as she held her twins balling face.

"Els, I was so worried. I didn't know what happened to you. I couldn't find you, I wanted to go back for you, but I knew I couldn't. I'm sorry," Elise cried.

"Elsy?"

Elise continued as she started to break down. "I'm so glad you're okay, I couldn't live without you, Elsa. I love you, please don't leave me again. I love you, Elsa."

"Elsy?"

"I can't live without you, I love you so much, please don't leave me," Elise pleaded.

"Elise?" Elsa grabbed her twin's shoulders and shook her, knocking her out of her emotional outpouring. Elise shut her mouth and looked at her with pleading eyes. "I'm here now. Everything is okay."

Elsa pulled Elise into another hug. Elsa spotted Admiral Hoffman standing idly by, trying to look distracted.

 _Thank you_ , she mouth to him. He smiled back at her. On the way up, his junior officers had informed her that it had been Admiral Hoffman that got Elise to safety. She was glad he was alive and not involved in the conspiracy. He was a good man.

"Elsy, I think we should take this somewhere else," Elsa whispered in Elise's ear. _I hope he didn't see or hear too much._

Elsa didn't wait for Elise to respond. She nodded to Admiral Hoffman.

"Your majesty," he said back as Elsa led the still sniffling Elise out of the room.

"Now, lead us to our room, I would really like to get cleaned up," Elsa politely asked. "But first, tell me about Anna. Is she okay?"

Elise nodded her head. "Olaf and Kristoff are-" she paused to sniff "-smuggling supplies from the trolls to her in prison. She's healthy and strong."

_Oh, thank God._

"Elsa, I couldn't get anyone to help us..." Elise started.

Elsa stopped walking and placed a finger over Elise's lips, effectively shushing her. "Is that what you're so worked up about?" Elsa asked. "Right now, I just want to get out of these clothes and curl up in bed with you. Then we can talk business. Deal?"

Elise nodded.

* * *

A few hours later, Elsa was somewhat revitalized and ready to go. Elise had similarly calmed down from her earlier breakdown.

"So, what do we know?" Elsa asked at their makeshift war council in their makeshift office, courtesy of First Mayor Dammert.

"We know that General Holt, Minister Hansen, and the Captain of the Guard have successfully secured Arendelle. Our secret police has been incapacitated and probably has been for a while. We know that they have taken Anna and the rest of the council hostage, but they are also safe and unharmed. The fleet at Trondheim is safe and secure and a royalist army is being raised as fast as possible by our forces there," Elise reported. Elsa had been proud that Elise had started spying on the enemy right away. The special skill alone put them leagues above where they should have been. Without this information, they wouldn't have had a snowball's chance in hell.

"I'm afraid it's too little and too late," Admiral Hoffman chimed in. "I apologize for not informing you sooner, but while you two slept, I received a message from the Prussian government. It seems that a 'peoples' nationalist army is being raised in Oslo. They are set to make for Arendelle as soon as possible."

"Those fucking Swedes are behind this," Elise cursed.

"There's no doubt," Elsa concurred. "But there's nothing we can about that. Without proof, we risk putting ourselves in an even worse situation."

"And no one will help us," the admiral pointed out.

"Then I'll go in myself," Elise declared as she stood up. "I'll show them what it means to rule over winter."

"That is exactly what got us into this mess in the first place," Elsa scolded as she grabbed Elise's arm and forced her back down.

"What?"

"Our powers," Elsa explained. "They're the reason they fear us. The people know what we're capable of and those bastards used that to scare the people into blindly following them."

"There may have been other things," Hoffman quietly pointed out, but Elsa and Elise ignored him.

"Elsa, we have this power at our finger tips that we can use to fix this mess in a single move. Why waste that?" Elise argued.

"If we go back to Arendelle and do what you propose, we will only prove to the people that those bastards had been right all along. We will win back a kingdom that hates us even more," Elsa reasoned. There was logic to Elsa's word, but there were more personal reasons for Elsa's objection to Elise's plan. Elsa wasn't ready to bring it up.

"So, you propose we sit by helplessly?" Elise asked, raising her voice.

"No, I didn't say that. We just can't do it on a grand scale. We need a real force behind us. Otherwise we just look like monsters."

"So, we're back to nothing then?" Elise pointed out. Elsa sighed. "No one is going to help us, Elsa."

"Even if we manage to take back Arendelle with the fleet and this makeshift army, we will never be able to defend it from this Norwegian army assembling in Oslo," Hoffman added.

"This situation is hopeless," Elise said with a huff.

There was a knock at the door, followed by one of Hoffman's men entering. They had explicitly given orders not to be disturbed.

"Dammit, ensign, what's the meaning of this?" Hoffman demanded.

"Sir, there's someone here to see her majesties. I think you should hear him out," the naval officer reported.

"Let him in," Elsa ordered.

"Your majesties, may I present Henry Wheaton, American Envoy to the Kingdom of Prussia," the officer announced. An older man followed the officer into the room. This was the man, Elsa reminded herself, who was still in the process of negotiating a treaty with the Zollverein, the German Custom Union. He had been at this single task for longer than Elsa had been queen. He had also been a former Envoy to the Kingdom of Denmark and a specialist in Scandinavian culture.

"I hope I'm not disturbing anything, but I found this to be an urgent situation," the American envoy apologized. He spoke Norwegian well.

"M-Minister Wheaton? What a surprise," Elsa stammered. "Minister Herbert wanted me to make sure you found about what happened to your ships in Arendelle, but I didn't expect you to come all the way from Berlin to see me."

"Don't worry, you majesty, I have already been briefed by Captain Hill," Wheaton assured. "I have actually come here to see your majesties and I am glad to see you have arrived safely."

"Please, have a seat, Mr. Wheaton," Elsa insisted as Admiral Hoffman dragged another chair over to the table. "You're dismissed, ensign. No more interruptions."

"Yes, your majesty."

"So, what brings you to, Hamburg, Mr. Wheaton?" Elise asked as the officer closed the door behind him.

"Please, just Henry is fine," the old man implored. "I've come here to discuss this situation in Arendelle, your majesties."

"Oh, just Elsa and Elise are fine," Elsa said with a smile. There was something awfully informal about all this, Elsa could tell.

"We were just doing the same, Mr.-uh Henry," Elise commented. "I'm afraid things aren't looking good."

"That's why I'm here actually. You see, the United States of America has much interest in maintaining the current-well, now disposed of-leadership in Arendelle."

The three Norwegians looked at each other, confused. This was not something expected to be said from an American official in Europe.

_This is about my ice again isn't it?_

"Mr. Wheaton, it is not like the United States to get involved in European affairs," Elise pointed out.

"You're correct, my dear, which is why we won't be getting involved," he said matter-of-factly.

"Then what may I ask, are you doing here?" Admiral Hoffman asked dryly.

"I am here to make sure my country's interests are looked after," Wheaton pointed out.

Elise was already tapping her fingers on the table in annoyance. "You mean your ice shipping?" Elsa wondered out loud.

"One of the reasons, yes. The burning and internment of US flagged vessels is an act of aggression," Wheaton admitted.

"And the others?" Elsa asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Let me guess, you want to maintain our rule because having two sorceresses as friends will give you a spot at the grown-up table?" Elise insinuated.

The American only smiled.

"Well, too bad because there's nothing we can do," Elise exclaimed as she got up from the table and walked to the door, giving the American the hint his time was up.

"Your majesty, let me rephrase my earlier statement. The United States of America will not be getting involved _officially_."

"Oh." Elsa was just as stunned as Elise had been. The room remained silent.

"My friends in the Prussian court speak of a Norwegian nationalist army forming in Oslo. Is this true?" Wheaton asked as he got up to examine a map that been hung on the wall.

Elsa met Elise's questioning gaze. They both shrugged. "Yes," Elsa answered.

"Can it be defeated?" Wheaton asked.

This time Admiral Hoffman answered. "Possibly, but we can't take back Arendelle and hold off that army. We simply don't have the resources to do both."

"What do you need to take back Arendelle then?" the older man asked. "Well?" he repeated when no one answered. The three looked to each other. Elsa thought to herself.

 _What do we need?_ _Well, we…_

"The fleet," Elise answered suddenly, "plus a contingent of skilled troops. Not many."

"We only have half of that," Elsa murmured to herself.

"You don't need a lot?" Wheaton asked curiously.

"No," Elise answered. Elsa could tell she was lost in thought. Elsa stood up from the table and joined her twin's side.

"Do you have an idea?" she whispered. Elise nodded.

"I just need people who know what they are doing," Elise continued. "I think I have a plan."

"What I'm about to tell you shall never leave this room, is that clear?" Wheaton commanded. The other three nodded. It wasn't often that someone as low as an envoy would command a room composed of two monarchs. "I leave Captain Hill in charge of a detachment of United States Marines that you are fortunate to just happen to be the area. As of this moment, Captain Hill and the _USS Potomac_ , as well as these Marines are no longer under the command of the Department of the Navy. These men now belong to you, until hostilities have ceased and they are returned to our service. Until then, they have no connection to me or this country. Everything they do will fall back on Arendelle and your command."

Elsa, Elise, and Admiral Hoffman stared at the man in shock. "D-do you even have the authority to do that?" Elise stuttered.

"Do what?" Wheaton asked as he made for the door. "Oh, and Captain Hill will fill you in on the details. These are good people, veterans of the Seminole Wars though they may be a bit more acclimated to a Mediterranean climate. Use them wisely. Good evening, Admiral, your majesties," Henry Wheaton curtsied with a bow as he exited the office without further delay.

"Uh, what just happened?" Elsa asked.

Elise was already spreading down a map of Arendelle on the table. "Admiral, please go find Captain Hill and bring him up here now," Elise ordered. "I'll need you both up here."

"Yes, ma'am," Hoffman said as he too rushed out the room, leaving Elise and Elsa alone.

"What are you thinking, love?" Elsa asked as she came up to look over Elise's shoulder. Elise's eyes were scanning the map intently.

"I can do it, Elsa," Elise declared. "I can take back Arendelle."

"Don't you mean 'we'?" Elsa said as she wrapped her arms around Elise's waist.

"No, I'm sorry, Elsa, but I'll need you in Trondheim," Elise remarked without looking up.

Elsa let go of Elise and took a step back. "Oh, okay," Elsa murmured. The last thing she wanted was to get separated again. And to let Elise go back into the danger...

"Els, did something happen to you?" Elise worried as she turned around and cupped Elsa's cheek.

"I..." _Oh, I'll have to tell her eventually._ "...I don't think I can use my powers against people."

Elise scrunched her eyebrows. "I see. I guess that explains why you were so opposed to us taking back Arendelle ourselves," Elise concluded. If Elise wanted to take back Arendelle using their powers, Elise would have had to do it alone. Elsa would only put Elise at risk if she went too. "But tell me Els, what happened?"

Elsa shrugged and turned around, hugging her chest. "I saw a lot of people get killed. I can't get those images out of my mind. And I think I may have..."

"What, Els?" Elise urged when Elsa paused.

"I think I killed some people myself," Elsa admitted. In the few time she had gotten to sleep in the past few days that the marines were smuggling her to the continent, Elsa had been plagued with nightmares.

"You think?" Elise inquired.

"I don't know, Elsy. It happened so fast and I had my eyes closed. I just shot out my magic when the first shot went off when I got stuck in that trap. There were men in that direction, I remember that. It had to have hit them. I tried asking Lieutenant Jacobs or Sergeant Conners, but they refused to talk about it." It actually felt good to finally get this off her chest.

"You'll be okay, Elsa. That's why I want you to go to Trondheim. Our forces there need you. I'll be needed in Arendelle. I'll get Anna back and we'll be together again. Then we can get you through this together, okay? I'll explain everything, don't worry," Elise assured her as she rubbed the bandage over Elsa's wounded arm. Elsa smiled back warmly at her wife.

Elsa removed her arms from her chest and stroked Elise's face as they smiled intently at one another. "When are you going to let you hair grow out?" Elsa asked rather unexpectedly as she moved her hands to her twin's short black hair.

"Uhm, never?" Elise answered, slightly confused by Elsa's random question.

"Good, I missed it," Elsa whispered.

They stayed in their spots for a few more minutes, just standing their staring at each other's visage.

"Does this plan involve leaving soon?" Elsa asked when the silence became too much. The mood shifted.

"Of course," Elise answered. "Why?"

"It's too warm here," Elise and Elsa both said at the same time.

"JINX!"

The twins broke out in a fit of giggling.

"You majesties?" Admiral Hoffman entered the office with Captain Hill in tow. Both girls quickly stopped and tried to don their regal personas. After all the stresses of the past weeks, there was little point trying to mask the fatigue and worry. The two naval officers didn't care regardless.

Elise cleared her throat as the group huddled around their map. "Well then, let us begin."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta readers, Mig and rd.
> 
> So some interesting facts. Henry Wheaton is a real person. He was the American Envoy to Prussia at the time and was the former Envoy to Denmark. I kind of wrote him how ever because I'm not really sure what he was like. Apparently he studied "Scandinavian languages" so I'm just assuming he spoke Norwegian. Poor guy spent 4 years negotiating a treaty with the Confederation only to have the Senate not ratify it.
> 
> As for America's involvement in Arendelle, yes it is quite out of character for 1840s America to be getting involved in European affairs. That's why it's on the low down. That being said, that doesn't mean America WAS NOT sending troops overseas at the time. I stumbled across a pretty interesting pdf while doing research that lists out all of the USAs instances of sending the armed forces abroad. Check it out, I'll put a link to it on my tumblr post for this chapter.  
> Here too because AO3 is cool like that: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/crs/rl32170.pdf
> 
> There's a lot of cases of naval forces going ashore to fuck with or punish natives or pirates that messed with American shipping. Also cases of US forces going into South American countries to protect American interests during insurrections and revolutions. This is all in the 1820s-40s. Wait till you get later on in the 19th century, then there's cases of US troops landing to protect US interests almost every year.
> 
> Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your reviews…if I had any to read that is.


	24. Return to Trondheim

General Holt stood over the large map of the Scandinavian Peninsula. His eyes traced over the many markers that dotted the Norwegian region. There was one distinct group that settled on Arendelle itself. Most of the markers on the map didn't match up with these. They controlled the capital, but the rest of Arendelle remained in the hands of royalist forces.

The only promising sight was the large formation that was moving in from the south-reinforcements in the form of King Oscar's Norwegian nationalists. Only then could General Holt and Minister Hansen begin to bring the rest of Arendelle under the control of their interim government.

"Shall we begin?" Minister Hansen spoke up amid the silence. Holt hadn't even realize he or the Captain of the Guard had walked into the room. "Captain, why don't you start off?" Hansen suggested.

This war room had been transformed to the seat of power of Arendelle. Every night General Holt, Minister Hansen, and the Captain of Guard-the triumvirate that now ran Arendelle-would meet to discuss the situation. And every night brought a new set of problems or concerns to the table.

Due to the lack of manpower, all three were running around trying to do many jobs at once. Holt was in charge of the armed forces and pacifying the rest of the country. It was a task easier said than done, since most of his forces were required to stay in the capital and thus became useless as towns and garrisons all over the country refused his orders. The arrival of the nationalist army would solve that problem but not until then.

The Captain of the Guard was in charge of keeping order in the capital itself and of the judicial system. Every day brought worry over the stabilization of the capital. The city was growing restless, there would only be so much more they could take before they snapped on the interim government. They had already forced their hand once several days ago.

Then there was Minister Hansen. He was acting head of state and government of the interim government. He had the hardest job of all of them...

"General, your report?" Hansen asked. The Minister's voice stirred him from his thoughts suddenly. Holt hadn't bothered listening to the Captain's report at all.

He took a deep breath before answering. "My forces have been able to gain the loyalty of a few more coastal villages in the surrounding region," he reported. "Unfortunately, this is the farthest extent we can send our forces without compromising the capital's security at least until the nationalists arrive."

"And your report on them?"

"They're making progress. They've already crossed the Arendelle-Norwegian border," the General pointed out to the new position of the marker that represented their reinforcements. They were behind schedule, they had been for days, but Hansen didn't need to know that. "They aren't facing any resistance."

"Good, good. What about the forces in Trondheim?"

"No changes from yesterday." Holt barely looked up from his map.

"Is there something wrong, General?" Hansen asked. There was.

"Queen Elise and Elsa have left Hamburg...several days ago," Holt admitted.

"What!?" Hansen yelled. "Why am I just finding this out now?"

"Because I just found out, Hansen," he explained calmly. Holt had also been put in charge of the interim government's foreign services. Hansen had been the foreign minister in the royal government, but he was much too busy with domestic affairs to continue that job. Personally, Holt felt like domestic affairs wasn't Hansen's strong suit.

Hansen slammed his fists onto the table, knocking several pieces of Holt's map over. Holt showed no reaction as he moved to replace the pieces. He had grown used to Hansen's ever more frequent violent outbursts.

"Where are they going?" Hansen demanded.

"Trondheim, most likely. To take command of their forces there," Holt causally answered. "And I'll say this again, no one has given support to them. Your- _my_ people are sure of it. They are alone."

Hansen swore. "It doesn't make a difference...what are the chances they can take back Arendelle?"

"Again I'll say this, even with this volunteer army they're raising up there, they will not be able to defeat us. However, I should also point out, that it is possible for their forces to arrive before our reinforcements."

"What?!" Hansen started.

"Even if they managed to take back Arendelle, they would never be able to hold it, right?" the Captain of the Guard tried to reassure the situation. Holt used to call that man his friend. Now he had just became Hansen's lackey as they desperately tried to win over the various political factions and offices within the city. Upon learning how little control the interim government had over the people, the smaller offices throughout Arendelle decided to play hard to get. It would be impossible to set up a new, stable government without their support. Hansen and the Captain were flailing around like idiots trying to get them under control.

"You're right, unless the royalist forces receive some divine intervention," Holt pointed out.

"And that is what Princess Anna is for," Hansen snarled. "We use her to subdue those two witches. And if they go and summon even a flurry, we make sure they change their minds. They'll wish we killed their sister by the time we're done with her."

Several weeks ago, Holt had looked up to Hansen for practicing calm in the first few days, especially when Holt himself had foolishly suggested that they invade the American consulate. The tables had turned since then. He was the calm one now while Hansen was slowly losing his mind to the stresses over building a government that, quite frankly, no one else cared about.

Holt didn't bother opposing Hansen's idiocy this time.

_How soon you forget, you fucking fool. Don't harm the Princess. The people almost stormed the castle just to get the princess moved from the dungeons to her room._

Hansen thought he held Queen Elsa and Elise hostage by holding onto Princess Anna. He didn't realize that by holding the princess hostage, the people of Arendelle held him hostage. Holt knew better than to think their coup could possibly succeed at this point.

Only a complete screw-up on the crown's part or sheer luck would save them now. The question was, who would go down with them?

* * *

"We'll be together again soon, I promise," Elise assured as she comforted her crying wife. "Elsa..."

Elise was cutoff. "I know. It's just-"

"-hard to say goodbye?" Elise finished her sentence.

"Yeah," Elsa confessed.

"I promise I'll be safe. Nothing will happen to me," Elise promised.

"You better hope so. Or else," Elsa playfully threatened causing Elise to chuckle. "You look absolutely dashing in this uniform by the way," Elsa pointed out, to distract herself perhaps, but Elise was just happy she was no longer gloomy.

"Well, I figured an ice dress won't be very useful in combat," Elise joked. She immediately winced. _Bad word choice._

It showed as Elsa pulled her back into another tight embrace and buried her head in the crook of Elise's neck.

Before Elise got a chance to sooth her wife, she abruptly pulled away. "Go get Anna back for the both of us," she ordered, looking firmer now.

"Of course," Elise managed to say before Elsa pulled her into a final kiss. Elise savored it, whimpering when Elsa finally pulled away.

"You better be okay when I arrive in Arendelle, or there will be hell to pay," Elsa commanded, slightly playfully, as she walked towards the door of her cabin.

"Of course, your majesty," Elise smirked.

"I love you," they both quickly said at once, desperate to get in what could be their last words.

Elsa stared back at her and pouted in the cute way the Elise loved so much. She could tell Elsa wanted to say more, but also wanted to keep her last words "I love you." The pout was a sign of Elsa's mind debating while she was in a casual setting. Elise had started calling it 'puffy cheeks' and it caused her to crack up every time witnessing it, much to Elsa's abasement.

This time though, Elsa only smiled as Elise slowly started to snicker.

And then she was gone, out the door. The last thing they had heard each other say was "I love you." The last mental image they had of each other was a face full of happiness. _Perfect._

Elise felt sick to her stomach.

* * *

Elsa watched until the last ship of the departing fleet disappeared into the fjord.

_Separated again. Alone again._

Elsa whirled around, her cape twisting with her in an exaggerated display. She was on a mission now. This time she wasn't mindlessly following two soldiers through the wilderness or helplessly sitting by waiting on others. Her mind was set on a clear set of objectives that needed to be met. That was more than enough to keep her distracted.

"General, I wish to see my men," she ordered the brigadier general that had been in charge of the forces here. She was in an unknown city with people she hardly knew. No friends, not even Admiral Hoffman could stay behind as he was needed with the fleet. Elsa was going to make a point to tour _all_ of Arendelle when this was over, it was ridiculous to feel out of place in her own kingdom just because it wasn't the capital.

"As you wish, your majesty."

Her 'army' was pitiful, even by Arendelle's standards. It was a mixed bag of barely trained volunteers and conscripts, a few militias, and the small contingent of regulars that had been made fat and lazy by years of garrison work. A company of Royal Marines had been left behind at Elise's insistence to serve as Elsa's bodyguard. They were her most and only elite troops. Her Majesty's Royal Volunteer Army was hardly up to high standards, but they were her troops. These were her soldiers, her people.

Elsa walked through their inspection formation with pride despite the somber mood she could read on the faces of the young men she started to pass by. None of these people had ever seen her before, but they had all heard the stories no doubt. Elsa let a trail of snowflakes flow from her cape as she walked. The ranks were awed as she passed by. It broke her heart that most of these people were so young. Her age and Anna's age both. She smiled as she passed by boys and young men. She included a little sway of her hips here and there to seal the deal.

_Sometimes I surprise even myself._

They were loving it and loving her. They awed in wonder at Elsa's powers and her beauty. They took notice of the way she commanded respect just by her bearing and at the stern, but caring nature she presented. By the time Elsa reached the end of her inspection, the somber atmosphere she had walked into had drastically changed.

By the time Elsa had returned to her troops, changed into a close copy of her own father's uniform, sword included, even her officers had reported that morale was skyrocketing. Her new uniform helped even more so. The men of Trondheim and surrounding areas were ready to die for their beautiful queen. She had earned the respect and awe of the older gentlemen. The young men and boys fell in love with her, ready to die a romanticized death for their newly found goddess-queen.

 _Some of them probably think they're going to win my heart in glorious battle._  
  
Elsa giggled at the thought, purposely covering her mouth to make a bigger spectacle. It put the young men into a fever and simply inflamed their hearts to witness their queen so casually.

 _I really shouldn't think like that. These are good people. They don't know you're already taken...by your own sister._  
  
Elsa felt bad for using her men like this. But she had to have them in the best fighting spirit as possible. Taking them out gloomy and low-spirited was dangerous. It was a moral-dilemma that Elsa hated. And it wasn't like she didn't plan on doing everything she could, even putting herself in danger, to protect them.

Elsa's part in the liberation of Arendelle was just as vital as Elise's was. Elsa was to take her forces south to Arendelle. She had to beat the nationalist army, but she couldn't arrive before Elise secured the city. Elsa and her own officers were confident they could do that. The next step included fighting back the nationalist army that would arrive.

That wasn't going to be so easy. Elise's snowflakes had shown them that their army was well-equipped and surprisingly well-trained. They also outnumbered Elsa's own force even if most of Elise's forces were to survive the assault and their forces could combine. Their best bet would be to take shelter in the city and defend there, but doing so could devastate Arendelle.

Instead, Elsa was going to intercept them outside of Arendelle. There was no fortifications and she would be outnumbered. Any commander worth their salt would call Elsa a fool and an idiot. But Elsa was no ordinary commander. There were also no people to witness her power outside of the city, no civilians to get caught in the crossfire, and no infrastructure that could be ruined.

Killing, after all, wasn't the only way to fight back. Elsa would build her own fortifications. She would use her powers to protect her own people as they fought. She would channel the enemy to where she wanted them. Nothing over the top, just enough to get the job done and protect as many as her own people as she could. The survivors wouldn't speak of all the enemies Elsa slayed, but the friends that she had saved.

"Are we ready to move, General?" Elsa asked.

"We can move out by dawn, your majesty," her General answered.

"Excellent. Give the order then, General, I have business to attend to," Elsa ordered. In the meantime, Elsa set off to explore the encampment. She wanted to speak to every soldier she could before the day came to a closure. Not just talk with, but really mingle without barriers.

It was a little awkward at first, but eventually everyone got comfortable despite the obvious disapproval from the officers and her bodyguard. Elsa ate with them, drank with them, and even sung a few songs with them. It was exhilarating if it were not for the thought that many of these people that Elsa now called friends would not survive. It hung over her like Olaf's flurry cloud. Still, Elsa enjoyed herself greatly. She had never done something so...rash as to "party" with a bunch of soldiers-let alone any large group of people-and maybe it was all the stress and anxiety that had coerced her out of her shell or just desperation to escape said stress and anxiety, but Elsa was glad she had spent her evening doing it.

_If only Elise and Anna were here to enjoy it with me._

There was more to the Queen's visit with the soldiers than Elsa's sanity however. Word had spread quickly that the Queen had been out talking, eating, and even drinking with the soldiers. It spread to the rest of the soldiers and to the families that the young men of Trondheim had been taken from.

The next morning, Elsa was met with cheers and flowers from the same families as she rode alongside her marching soldiers on the way out of Trondheim. Children gave her bouquets and she returned the favor with flurries and snowflakes. It was a wonderful show of pride and loyal fervor and it took all of Elsa's strength to keep from crying. Only the weeping mothers broke through her defenses. Her staff paid no mind, they understood.

Such a grand departure could not have been missed, there was no subtlety. That had been the plan.

* * *

The _USS Potomac_ and the small Royal Navy sailed southward at great haste, their holds filled to capacity with Royal Marines of two varieties. They all wore the uniforms of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, but only one variety, the minority, actually spoke Norwegian.

Elise, Admiral Hoffman, and Captain Hill had stayed aboard the _USS Potomac_ as they finalized their plan of action. The _Potomac_ , a frigate, was the largest ship in the formation. Eight brigs, thirteen schooners, and several dozen gunboats made up Arendelle's portion of the fleet, the best they could offer.

The fleet was to pull into the southern entrance of Arendelle's fjords under the cover of darkness where they would deposit the marines into small boats for a landing. The first wave would advance up the fjord unaware and attack the coastal defenses that protected the city. Elise planned to ride with them along the way, using her powers to scout out and cut down enemy lookouts. They had to get as close to the outer walls as possible before the alarm was raised, otherwise the first wave would be slaughtered. The best American marines had been chosen to lead this assault, each unit equipped with a native Royal Marine to act as a guide.

Once the marines clamored up and captured the defenses, the next stage of the assault would commence. The rest of the fleet would move up the fjord and enter the harbor unopposed and unscathed. The ships of the Royal Navy and _USS Potomac_ would directly support the second wave of marines as they landed on and secured the docks. From there, the ships would continue to support the marines as they moved throughout the city to secure it. The marines from the first wave as well as sailors and marines still on the ships would also support in the capture of the city.

In the meantime, Elise was to personally lead a separate wave of marines in a direct assault on the castle itself, an option that normally would have been impossible with the small numbers they had. That was why Elise planned on blasting her way through the front gate while giving her own troops cover from fire. Once the castle was secure and the interim government captured, Elise had hoped that the rest of the conspirators would fall easily.

The entire plan rested on Elise's shoulders. From getting the marines of the first wave to the coastal defenses intact to signaling the rest of the fleet to move out was Elise's responsibility. Night time was a terrible time to do battle, but Elise planned on using her powers as signals to mitigate those problems and cover long distance communication. Different aerial ice blasts meant a different order, from 'advance' to 'retreat'. That's how the fleet would know when the coastal defenses were down. Elise also planned on using her snowflakes to keep an eye on the various forces under her command so she could have an idea what was going on overall. Thankfully the distance was short, but that coupled with the fact the Elise still had to fight and defend herself was going to be a terrible strain on her powers and body.

The final aspect of the plan was to make sure Anna and the rest of the council were safe before the assault on the castle itself. That involved a small team entering the castle before the attack through Elise's secret entrance. She had already divulged the location of the entrance to the team that was going, but the problem was getting them there.

"We'll need a guide to get that team there," Captain Hill pointed out. "My Marines aren't familiar with this land and we don't have time to scout it out."

Elise smiled knowingly. "I have the perfect idea for that."

* * *

Olaf had been wondering through the forest when he first spotted the special snowflake. He wasn't far from the Valley of the Living Rock-he wasn't supposed to wander too far off anymore-when he spotted it.

"Oh, hello there? Are you looking for Elsa or Elise?" the snowman asked it. The snowflake danced in front of him without responding. Then it started leaving.

"Oh wait, come back!" Olaf pleaded. He continued to follow it, curiosity had won the best of him. This was a special snowflake, not like the ones from his own flurry. And it was out in summer. Very unusual indeed especially considering that Elsa and Elise were gone now. They were on a trip. That's what Kristoff had told him, but Olaf wasn't sure. Maybe this would lead him to them. Olaf had to investigate.

The snowflake continued on and on all night. When it exited the tree line, Olaf hadn't even realized he'd been led to the edge of the fjord, very far from Arendelle. The snowflake disappeared over the water.

"Aw, where did you go...?" Olaf paused when he spotted the people that dotted the shoreline.

"Hi, I'm Olaf and I like…" Olaf trailed off when he remembered Kristoff's speech about avoiding the bad guys.

"Uh oh."

* * *

Kristoff was starting to worry. That little snowman had gone and wandered off again and he'd been gone far too long this time.

"Stop your worrying," Bulda scolded him. "The little guy can handle himself."

Kristoff stopped pacing. The valley hadn't been the same since that day. It was now littered with the wounded and broken, the few loyal soldiers that had been able to escape Arendelle. Kristoff's adopted troll family had graciously accepted them in when Kristoff had first started bringing them back. Now they were his responsibility and Olaf was putting them all at risk.

"Here we are now!"

Kristoff's ears pricked up at the sound coming from the valley entrance. That was Olaf alright.

"See? I told you he would be fine," Bulda chided.

"I'm going to give him a talking to," Kristoff warned as he moved to meet the troublesome snowman.

"Olaf you..." he started as the snowman walked into the valley.

He cursed. Olaf had brought friends. Armed friends.

Ever since the first day, Kristoff had to resort to carrying a weapon everywhere he went. He reached for the crossbow slung on his back but stopped when Olaf's company asked a simple question.

"Are you Kristoff Bjorjman?" one of Olaf's new friends asked. So far, none had made any threatening moves towards him. They had even started gathering a small crowd of trolls and humans alike and still the group didn't make any threatening moves.

"Yeah, that's me," Kristoff finally answered and worried if he'd regret giving up even the smallest of information.

The man who had asked him just smiled.

_I got a bad feeling about this._

* * *

Anna was sitting at her window reading by candle light. She paid no mind to the newly installed bars at her window. Locked in her room all day. The same as it was every day.

_This is what Elsa must have felt like...but worse._

At least it wasn't a cell. They had transferred her from the dungeons to confinement in her room many days ago. They hadn't told her why, but Anna heard rumors that a crowd had gathered at the gates and demanded better treatment for Anna. She heard them from the servants that brought her food. Whether they were true or not, Anna didn't know, but she was very grateful.

It wasn't so bad. They kept her well-fed. She read all day, played games with herself, and every night...

And just on schedule it arrived. Every night the snowflake came. Elise's spy snowflakes, the one's she had used before coming to Arendelle. They had started coming ever since the first night to comfort and check up on her, arriving shortly after Olaf had left. Every night they came and every night Anna talked to it about her day. The snowflakes couldn't talk back, but just knowing that Elise and Elsa were listening in somewhere was enough.

"Hey Elsy, Els," Anna said to the dancing snowflake. Anna placed her palm on the window pane. This was the closest she'd been to Elsa and Elise in weeks. One night, Anna had gotten the idea to ask Elise to send two snowflakes if Elsa was with her and safe. The next night, only one showed up. It was like that for several days as Anna slowly lost hope until one night, two snowflakes showed up out of the blue, and lifting Anna's spirits greatly. That had been the only indication that Elsa was alive or that they could actually hear her on the other side. Anna surmised that they had been separated up until that point. At least now they were together and safe.

"...so that's how my day went. Same as every other day. Oh, I wish you would come back soon, I miss you so very much." The snowflake outside the window started dancing wildly, an indication that time was almost up. Anna understood that Elise had the rest of Arendelle to look after as well, so it didn't hurt that she only had five minutes at most with the snowflake. "Goodbye, I love you both and please come home!" Anna begged.

Anna kissed the glass as the snowflake drifted off into the night.

Every night was the same thing. At least Anna had been learning something from these books that her captors had been courteous enough to bring her though. She'd been going through a good chunk of the library.

"Speaking of which, I have a chapter to finish," Anna said to herself as she picked her book back up to continue reading. _I'll just finish this chapter, then head to bed._

As Anna continued to read, something outside caught her attention. It was a light flurry.

"Oh, snow...it's just snow," Anna observed. For a second there, Anna had gotten excited that she was going to be getting a second visit.

Anna continued on reading. She even made it a few line before her eyes grew wide as it clicked in her mind.

"...it's snowing."

"Snow?!" Anna jumped up and pressed up to the window to get a better view. Sure enough, there was a light flurry falling down.

"That's impossible, unless..." Anna trailed off when she noticed her hands that were resting on the window pane weren't cold.

_Right, it's not even winter. And now that I think about it, it's not really snowing anywhere else is it?_

Anna squinted her eyes trying to get a better view of the night sky. As Anna had thought, the flurry was contained to her window.

A memory crossed Anna's mind, a conversation from the past:

_"Distance is the greatest limit to our powers, Anna. The farther away something is, the harder it is to do it. The more detailed and controlled you want something to be, the harder it is to do it as well especially as distance increases. So I could create a blizzard in a distant land with enough concentration, but I probably wouldn't be able to do something like say, Olaf's personal flurry from that same distance. Unless I had it there already, which is why Olaf's will stay up wherever Elsa or I go."_

Elise's words explaining her and Elsa's powers from a few months ago echoed though Anna's mind.

 _They couldn't have pulled this off unless..._  
  
Anna's eyes drifted down to the guards she could see in the castle grounds and smirked. Then she got up and walked over to her own bookshelf. Anna pulled out one of the lesser used books ( _really_ less used) and walked back to her window seat.

Anna opened the book and pulled out the dagger that was hidden within its pages. She chuckled to herself as she tossed the book aside and hid the dagger between the cushions.

There would be no sleeping for Anna tonight. They were coming home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my two beta readers, mig and rd.
> 
> Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any questions, comments, or concerns.


	25. Shores of Arendelle

he waters of the fjord stood tranquil. The night was cold and still. The rowers were swift, but silent.

**Whoosh!**

There was a flash of blue light followed by a distant splash. The whiz of a flying crossbow bolt proceeded another splash. Elise sighed in relief. That was the last lookout until they reached the first layer of coastal defenses.

Elise turned back to the people in her boat – foreigners dressed in Arendelle uniforms. The boats around them that remained hidden in the dark were the same. American marines dressed as Royal Marines. Elise had been told these men were well experienced fighting pirates and savages alike. They should have been in the Mediterranean right now. Elise was going to see what they were really made of.

"It's fucking freezing out here."

"This is no Goddamn Mediterranean cruise that's for sure."

Elise was glad she didn't speak English.

"When we cross this bend, we'll be within sight of the fortress," Lieutenant Jacobs pointed out in Norwegian for Elise. He was her personal translator now.

"I suppose this it then," Elise concluded. She took a deep breath as the lieutenant turned to his men and gave out last minute orders. While he spoke, Elise sent out a wave of snowflakes towards Arendelle's coastal defenses.

There was going to be a lot of lookouts on the wall to take care of. But the way in was easy. The lookouts were few and far between up the fjord and Elise and her marines had handled each one with ease. This time however, Elise had to kill or incapacitate as many guards as she could before they raised the alarm. The alarm was going to be raised regardless, she couldn't kill everyone at once, but the trick was to get as many boats to the wall before all hell broke loose.

This was it. The trip in and her constant surveillance had already taken its toll on Elise's body, but from here on out there would be no time for reprise. It didn't matter to Elise if she collapsed as soon as she was done as long as she reached that goal.

The defenses and lights of Arendelle came into view. The lights of Arendelle's Castle across the fjord caught her attention for the briefest of seconds but she didn't let that bother her. Elise closed her eyes and struck.

For the moment, her attention on the rest of her forces became irrelevant as she found all her targets through the snowflakes. Spears of ice flung out towards their unsuspecting victims. A few had seen Elise's boat come within range in the moonlight, but none had managed to say a word.

Unfortunately, some guards had seen their fellow comrades fall. That was something Elise hadn't anticipated to be an issue.

"Row faster," Elise ordered, eyes still shut. The command was relayed and her boat picked up the pace. The rest of the boats followed the lead. Spikes of ice continued to fly towards the wall as Elise picked off her targets individually. She was becoming overwhelmed though.

_How close are we?_

Unknown to Elise, not even her entire assault force had rounded the corner yet.

"Faster," Elise urged. Their pace picked up more. The entire assault force was now beyond the threshold.

Elise slammed her fist on the side of the boat as her snowflakes at the wall dissipated on command. They would be no use now. She had failed. Half a second later, a bell started ringing at the wall.

"Forward!" Elise screamed as her eyes shot open. She stood up on the front of the boat. She needed a good view to defend the boats as the made a dash for the wall. They weren't going to give up yet.

The American major that rode in the command boat of the formation immediately withdrew his sword and ordered the full on assault at the sight of Elise standing.

Elise let out a burst of magic that exploded above the wall, illuminating it in blue light, but not the small boats forming to make a mad dash towards it.

Small arms fire erupted from that fortifications. They were still too far away for that to be effective thankfully.

_The cannons though…_

Elsie found the gun ports that held the cannons within. If their lookouts would have worked, Elise's boats would have been blasted out of the water as they came around the bend. Instead they would remain silent. Elise iced over the gun ports.

A few of the cannons that were located on the top of the defenses managed to fire off a salvo before Elise silenced them too by plugging their barrels with ice. A cannonball whisked past the boat, startling her. The second impacted the water directly in front of them, showering Elise in fjord water and knocking her over. All too soon Elise heard the sickening explosion of a cannonball impacting one of the boats.

Elise was too focused to bother looking behind her to see who they had lost. Instead she returned to the task at hand, fighting off the defender's counter attacks.

They had made surprisingly quick progress as Elise became aware of the increasingly close plumes of water from musket and rifle fire. Elise closed her eyes and lifted her hands into the air. The droplets of water from the plumes as well as from the surface itself froze solid and rose into the air. Elise shot them through the air at the wall. Anyone caught in the open would be peppered with ice shot. They hadn't been heavy or moving fast enough to cause death, but it bought them time as the defenders were stunned.

Elise resumed the role of picking off individual soldiers and guards with blasts of magic and spears of ice. She had gotten so lost in the killing that she hadn't even noticed how close they had gotten. Her body locked up and a gasp escaped her lips as a round flew by her face, striking a marine in the boat behind her.

His screams were cut off when Sergeant Connors fired his rifle from his position next to Elise. He had been waiting in that position for the perfect shot since they had started the assault. They were now within small arms range.

"Light, Elise. We need more light, your magic is fading," Jacobs screamed. Elise was startled out of her shock at his request, quickly flinging another blast of bright magic behind the wall. The defenders were silhouetted for the attackers.

Elise grabbed more water out of the fjord, forming larger hail-sized ice shot. She sent these sailing at the defenders while she cursed to herself for her mistake. If she had done this earlier, instead of the pellet sized shot, she would have had the range to pick up the speed necessary to give them a fatal effect. Instead they were just a major nuisance, though still advantageous for the attackers.

Cannon fire from off to the side, probably from smaller batteries on the shore, started impacting the water around them. Something twitched at the back of her mind and Elise summoned a wall of ice in front of her. A volley of musket and rifle fire impacted the wall at the same time the boat did. Elise forgot they had been moving and she smashed face first into it, cutting her chin open. Jacobs pulled her back into the boat while other marines pushed the now floating wall of ice out of the way. They had lost precious speed and momentum, a practical death sentence in a situation like this.

Elise, still dazed, threw out her hand and angry spikes of ice flew out of the surface of the fortification where the volley had come from, skewering anyone who happened to occupy the space. She regained her balance and threw off Jacobs just in time to see a boat that had overtaken theirs explode before her. Her eyes traveled to the battery that had been firing at them from the shore. They hadn't accounted for the army to set up its cannons on the shores outside the city walls. Elise formed a chunk of ice out of the water and flung it at the batteries with all her might. She continued flinging boulder-sized chunks of ice at every shore battery until not a single gun remained unsmashed.

They had talked about trying to preserve Arendelle's defenses and equipment...at least the coastal defense cannons that were put out of action were kept intact.

Marines and defenders alike had paused to watch Elise throw her ice in rage until the shore guns remained silent, but not even their awe could stop the fighting as the attackers continued to row and the defenders continued to fire. Her fists were balled and she was heaving for air when Jacobs grabbed and turned her towards front. The wall loomed in front of her.

"Look, we're here," he bellowed at her.

_Shit, focus Elise._

Their boat slowed as it reached the wall. They were safe from small arms fire for now, but anything could be dropped down on them at any moment. Elise swiped her hand along the length of the wall. Ladders of ice rose out of the water in intervals for the rest of the assault force to climb up with.

She turned back to the men of her boat. "Get your guns ready and hang on tight," she ordered. The marines were staring wide eyed at her in amazement of the feats Elise had been pulling. Jacobs relayed the order and the men quickly rushed to prepare.

They could still be slaughtered trying to scale the walls. Elise's ladders were a convenience, but not their only [ace in the hole?][trick up their sleeve][same meaning]. So, she and her men, and the two boats that had pulled up alongside hers, would go up first to give the rest of the force cover fire. The looks she received from the two other boats confirmed their regret for getting to the wall early.

Elise prepared herself and waited until Jacobs gave her the go ahead. Everyone in all three boats were clinging to their rifles or swords and the sides of the boats. Ice was already forming at the bottoms of the boats, fusing them to one surface. The two other boats signaled ready. Jacobs nodded to Elise.

They would be taking the express route.

A pillar of ice shot them into the air, ending up level with the top of the wall. They had gone so fast that all of the marines had to take a moment to recover their equilibrium and shock. Thankfully they had that moment, for the defenders were so shocked by the sudden appearance of the three boats as well. The marines fired a salvo and stormed out onto the walls, bayonets and swords ready. Down below, the first wave of marines were climbing up the ladders.

In the first salvo, Elise had skewered a man with ice and the close up effects of her killing had suddenly become all too real. She veered over and vomited as the marines stormed out of the boats around her. Elise recovered and jumped out of the boat to follow them.

As soon as her feet hit the ground she collapsed onto the ice screaming in pain as what felt like searing fire ripped up her left thigh. Elise tried to fight back tears as Sergeant Conners came rushing back to help her. She risked a glance at where the pain was now coming from.

She wished she hadn't. There was a six-inch piece of wood sticking out of her left thigh. It must have hit her when that boat exploded and she hadn't realized until now.

"Oh, fuck..." Elise cried out, her whole attitude and demeanor changing in a flash. "Elsa, please, I want to go home." Conners's eyes fluttered as he watched her turn from calm and collected to hysterical. "I don't want to be here anymore. Elsa, please, I don't want to die, Elsa, please help me," she started begging.

Conners tried to speak and his hand reached down to her thigh. Elise screwed her eyes shut and covered her ears with her hands trying to shut out the sights and sounds around her.

"Your majesty?" Elise opened her left eye. A Royal Marine had joined Conners to attend to her injury. "You're not going to die," he assured her. "But you have to seal the wound with ice, okay?"

Elise stared down in horror at her thigh. Both of their hands rested on the wooden splinter. "No..." It was barely a whisper.

"Are you ready?" Elise shook her head. "On three..."

"1..."

_No._

"...2..."

_Elsa, please, don't let me die._

"...3."

Elise screamed in pain and almost passed out as they yanked the splinter out. They had to place their hand over the gaping hole, her magic worked on its own to seal the wound. Elise remained propped up against one of the boats as she breathed shallowly.

"I don't want to be here..." she mumbled to herself over and over again.

"Elise, you need to send up the signal," Jacobs ordered as he approached them. He stopped when he saw the blood on the ice. "Is she going to be okay?"

Conners nodded.

"Elise can you send up the signal?" Jacobs asked more forcefully.

Elise met his eyes and slowly nodded. She slowly lifted her shaking hand into the air and sent out the signal. A burst of ice shot up into the sky and exploded high enough for the fleet to see it.

"Watch out!"

Conners and Jacobs had been so distracted by the flare that they had missed the soldiers that had broken from the melee to finish off the queen. Conners was knocked to the side. The Royal Marine pulled a pistol and fired off into the assailants, but that failed to stop them from coming. Elise watched as time slowed down.

Jacobs was going to die if she didn't do anything. If he died, Elise would also die. Then then all her men would follow. Their attack would fail and...Elsa and Anna would most likely be next.

Elise launched herself from the ice and ran into one of the attackers. A blade of ice had been materialized just in time to impale him. With the other hand, Elise shot a blast of magic at another man. The rest were finished off by the marines.

Elise stumbled towards the melee. Pain shot up her body at every step, but her mind had a goal to complete and it wasn't going to be distracted. She froze the wound in annoyance, effectively freezing the nerve endings. The pain went away. Elise reinforced her leg with ice and her new limp soon disappeared as well. Her ice blade turned into a full sized cutlass.

Elise joined the melee, flanked by several marines, slashing at the enemy. Two enemies fell to her blade before she even registered what she was doing. A blade came down on her chest. Ice formed over her uniform just in time to stop it, but Elise was sure she bruised a rib. Ice continued to form around her body until she was covered in her own light-weight suit of armor.

Her attacker died at the hands of one of her marines. Elise moved on to another enemy, an army soldier. The traitors wearing Arendelle's uniform infuriated and goaded Elise to a greater intensity as she went mad with blood lust. Two more fell to her blade before Elise realized there wasn't anyone else to fight. She looked around the bloody fortress confused, no doubt in a state of shock. When she realized there was no more danger present, Elise collapsed to her knees and wailed.

Thankfully, the major in charge had survived the rush to the wall and taken charge of the situation as Elise had become incapable from a command standpoint. The marines had overwhelmed the defenders rather quickly and most ended up fleeing. The most intense fighting had been where Elise's vanguard landed. Seven boats didn't make it to the wall, all blasted out of existence by cannon fire. Dozens of more marines were killed by rifle or musket file in the charge to the fortifications. In fact, the marines suffered the least amount of casualties taking the wall itself. Most of the defenders had been killed or fled before the boats arrived at the wall. Elise's team had taken the brunt of it.

The major found Elise kneeling on the ground. He tried to approach her to inform her of the situation and thank her. If it hadn't been for her, they would have been slaughtered. However, the major was stopped by her translator, Lieutenant Jacobs. He would have to wait for her to recover now.

* * *

_**Earlier that night...** _

"Nice place..."

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up," came a hushed order.

The trespassers moved silently down the deserted halls of Arendelle Castle.

"Here's her hall," one of the marines whispered.

The local ice harvester that was still with them had guided them to the castle undetected.

"Charge at them and take them down before they can raise the alarm."

The spot that Queen Elise had told them about was still there, intact. They had been able to enter the castle undetected as well.

Two marines flew around the corner and charged the two guards that stood at Princess Anna's door. They were both taken down before the alarm could be raised.

"Hurry up and unlock the door. The attack could begin at any moment now." Another marine was fumbling with the keys taken from the two knocked out guards. They finally found the right one and unlocked the door.

The first marine that entered managed to see the ambush before it was too late. He managed to grab the thin wrist of his ambusher and twisted it around her back. The dagger dropped out of her hand.

"Au! Au!" Princess Anna cried out.

Anna was surprised when the man that had grabbed her suddenly let go of her just from her own command. She backed away from her attackers and turned to face them. She didn't even take a look at the man that had entered her room when her eyes wandered to the hallway beyond.

_Kristoff?_

Anna sprinted into the hallway without a second thought.

"Krist-" Anna started to cry out before she was snatched up by another man who slapped his hand over her mouth.

"Your highness, please be quiet," he ordered before releasing her. Anna glowered at the man, but quickly ran into Kristoff's arms.

"Kristoff, what's going on?" she whispered to him.

He stared at her blankly before answering. "We're...well, they're getting you out of here."

"Oh."

Anna turned back to the man who was exiting her room, the one she had just tried to kill. "Sorry..." she whispered.

"Listen Anna," Kristoff started. "Before we go, we need to know everything about the secret passages throughout the castle. We need to make sure the rest of the council is safe too, and the attack will be kicking off in any minute. We won't be able to sneak around the halls once it happens."

"Oh, that's easy. I know them like the back of my hand," Anna answered confidently.

* * *

Elise found herself once again in a boat. This time heading for the inner harbor. Now they had the ships of the entire fleet supporting them.

Elise recovered from her complete break down on the coastal defense wall and took the major's report with sorrow. She regained control over her snowflakes to make sure everything was going as planned. She sent more out to gauge the response from the enemy within the city. In the meantime, they were to wait for the fleet and the second wave of marines to arrive. Elise spent the time waiting, staring off into Arendelle, completely unblinking. Elise tried desperately to focus on the situation her snowflakes were trying to present to her, but all her mind wanted to do was relive the horrors she just had been through.

They had told her she had probably killed most of the enemy and saved the operation. She was the sole reason the marines arrived to the wall. Elise wanted to be happy, but she really couldn't feel anything.

It was just like when she was child and had killed her adopted family and village. Elsa and Anna were the only things keeping her from breaking down completely.

When they came for her to tell her the fleet arrived, they found her huddled and were sure Elise was dead to the word. The marines would describe her sporting a thousand yard stare with cold, dead eyes. To their surprise, Elise snapped out of it and went down to meet Admiral Hoffman.

They briefly discussed the next part of the plan and upon his insistence, Elise allowed a physician to look at her injuries. She thawed what she had frozen, bringing the intense pain with it. Admiral Hoffman held onto her like his own daughter as she screamed in agony while they cleaned the worst wound and she clung back onto him like a small child. Elise assured them she was going to be fine and departed for the attack on the city, making sure to fix her limp and numb the pain again.

"You look like shit," Jacobs observed as the boat glided through the water.

Elise glared at him. Bloody, bruised, scared, and tired. She was beyond shit. Elise had taken a terrible toll both physically and mentally during that last battle. Using her magic had worn her down at the beginning of the night, however, trying to use her magic after the battle proved almost fatal. She had so little power left, that Elise was sure she was going to die before morning came. She was going to will herself to keep going until she saw Anna alive. Only then Elise would allow herself to die.

Elise wasn't going to be afraid anymore like she had been on the battlefield earlier. She had felt the pain and survived. She had to be brave and strong just for a little bit longer. Then she would sleep, even if meant never waking up.

Panic flared up within her at the sound of cannon fire.

_Oh..._

Just as expected, the makeshift fleet of gunboats that the interim government had at their disposal launched a last ditch attack on the wave of shore-bound marines. Since it had been night, the enemy was blind and fired wildly into the darkness. Sporadic cannon fire from within the harbor joined the fray.

Elise sent out a flare of magic, which subsequently sent a wave of pain shooting through her body. Elise was reaching her limit. The flare of magic burst into the sky over the harbor, casting a blue shadow of death over the enemy. The guns of Elise's fleet roared to life. It was over within a minute. The guns in the harbor itself – Elise had counted only two batteries during her reconnaissance – were too light to damage the bigger ships that were now entering the harbor behind the marines. They surrendered before Elise's forces made landfall.

* * *

Her wave of marines arrived at the docks unopposed. Elise stepped onto the docks and looked back to the _USS Potomac_. It was time for Admiral Hoffman to take over now. It was his duty to secure the city while she dealt with the castle. The nationalist militias and General Holt's forces knew that staying within range of the harbor was suicidal as they scattered inland. As such, the guns of Arendelle's fleet remained silent for the remainder of the liberation, but they served as a constant reminder that the crown controlled the waterways now. Two of the brigs and five of the schooners remained outside the harbor to remain vigilant for escapees, especially from the waterfront castle.

More marines and sailors were landed at the docks and fanned out throughout the city. A platoon of American marines was sent to relive the besieged American consulate from militiamen while a company was sent to secure the interned American-flagged ships and their crews. Civilians – many of which had been up all night watching the battle unfold – rejoiced in the streets as the marines secured the city. Interim government forces were left scattered and cut off. Most were tracked down and captured. Very few resisted. The greatest resistance came from the armory itself, where two companies of General Holt's best men held out for four hours against marine assaults. They surrendered after suffering heavy casualties.

Arendelle citizens turned on the militias and army units in droves. A few situations became violent and marines actually had to intervene. By noon of that day, the marines had completely secured the city and were moving to restore order. By that evening, Admiral Hoffman and Princess Anna were meeting with local leaders to begin returning to normalcy.

Before day break however, Elise had grabbed her company of marines and headed to Arendelle Castle. It was all going to come to an end here.

*break*

General Holt had been gazing out the castle window at the approaching ships when Hansen burst into the room.

"General, where are your men?" Hansen demanded. Hansen had ordered Holt to send his two best companies to the Castle to defend it earlier that night. He never carried out the orders, instead ordering his men to stay put at the city armory. "Holt, I asked you a question."

"They're not coming," Holt answered apologetically.

"What do you mean they're not coming?! We need to hold this castle until Princess Anna is found. Once we have here, we can put a stop to their attack."

"Princess Anna is gone," Holt pointed out for the umpteenth time tonight. They had learned of Anna's disappearance when the attack had started. Hansen had sent for her immediately and they had found her room empty. By the time they had reached the councilor's jail cells, they too had been emptied. Hansen had been tearing through the castle looking for them ever since.

"This isn't over," Hansen tried to argue.

"But it is." At that moment, Elise's burst of magic lit up the harbor and the ships of the royal fleet opened fire on the last ditch-counter attack. Blue and fiery light poured through the window, casting an eerie shadow over Holt's tired face.

"How did they even manage to pull this off, General? We saw Queen Elsa take all of her forces out of Trondheim, how is this possible that their navy is overrunning Arendelle?" Holt was beyond caring anymore, but he decided to humor Hansen none the less.

Holt nodded towards the largest ship in the attacker's formation. "That ship wasn't ours," he explained. Holt had in fact anticipated a seaborne invasion despite the reports from Trondheim. He suspected that, while they were distracted with Queen Elsa, Queen Elise would attack from the fjord with the navy. Holt had prepared extra shore batteries in anticipation. With the few numbers they had at their disposal, not even Queen Elise's direct intervention would allow the attack to succeed. Holt had planned on trying his best, regardless of whether Hansen chose to hold the princess at knife point. Unfortunately, they had arrived with far greater numbers than Holt could have imagined. "I suspect most of these marines weren't either. They have outside help."

"You assured me they wouldn't," Hansen spat.

"I don't actually care anymore," Holt said as he got up. "Good luck with finding the princess, but I doubt it will make a difference now anyway."

"What? You can't leave now. General, get back here now!" Hansen cried as Holt walked over to the door.

Holt never looked back as Hansen's pleas fell on deaf ears. It was time for Holt to leave this place.

* * *

Elise marched through the deserted town square with a company of marines at her back. The castle loomed ahead of her. A blizzard picked up in the space between the mainland and the castle walls, dropping visibility down to zero. If they couldn't be seen, they wouldn't be shot on the way in. The winds were so powerful that even blind firing would have been useless.

Elise entered the blizzard and crossed the bridge that led to her home. Unconsciousness was tugging at the corners of her mind and Elise struggled to move forward in her own blizzard. Her body ached and the ice numbing her injuries was starting to fade. Searing pain shot through her body, intensifying at each step. Twice she almost tripped over her own feet as she crossed the bridge.

There was sudden sense of déjà vu as she found herself in front of the closed gates in a whirling storm. Elise raised her hand. A glance behind her confirmed that the marines were in position.

The castle was going to need a new set of gates for the second time.

* * *

 

Princess Anna had never been found after Holt ran away, but the queen had been spotted marching towards the castle. There was no indication of a siege, but a direct assault. Hansen and the remaining guards were going to make their last stand here.

The blizzard prevented them from firing from the walls, but there was no doubt they were going to come through the front gate. Hansen and his men were going to ambush them as they entered the courtyard.

The front gates blew apart in an ear shattering explosion and the castle grounds erupted in gunfire. Hansen realized they were in trouble when the dust settled and revealed fortifications of ice forming around the open gates. Instead of being shot down as they entered, the attacking marines were pouring into the courtyard unscathed, firing at the defenders from behind solid cover.

The ice barriers were growing forward towards the castle itself like a caterpillar. The attackers were leapfrogging between firing from cover and advancing at alarming speeds. Guards were dropping like flies.

Hansen knew they had to stop them before they reached the castle. It was barren, except for the skeleton staff that the interim government kept around to maintain it. They were safely tucked away in the cellars, but if the marines reached the castle, they would be able to roam free while Hansen and his guards were caught outside.

Hansen turned to the Captain of the Guard, withdrawing the sword he now carried. "We need to put an end to this now." The Captain of the Guard, with a face pale in dread, simply nodded.

_It's time to cut down this witch queen once and for all._

Hallvard Hansen and the remaining guards charged at the advancing marines, intending to drive them back in melee.

This was the beginning of their comeback.

* * *

Elise barely felt like she was in her own body anymore. Her magic and movement was operating exclusively on pre-planned reflexes. The combat wasn't as bad this time around though, probably because she had almost no idea what was going on around her. She just had to get to the front doors of the castle and it would all be over.

Not even Lieutenant Jacobs was able to get her attention to warn her of the sudden charge of the remainder of the defenders.

Elise didn't take notice as the marines hunkered down and fired salvos at the charging guards. Half the guards fell before they reached the marines. The first ones to reach the lines were cut down with ease. The survivors threw down their arms and surrendered promptly. It was over within minutes. Their last stand was cut short.

Elise, however, unaware what was happening around her, stumbled outside of the halted line of the marines. Lieutenant Jacobs and Sergeant Connors were in the middle of reloading when they spotted an enemy charging at Elise. There was nothing they could do.

Minister Hallvard Hansen was mere steps away from finishing the job that should had been done at the beginning of the coup.

For the briefest of seconds, Elise became acutely aware of her surroundings. She lifted her trembling hand at the same time. The man charging at her was frozen solid by the time her hand dropped back down to her side.

* * *

The sound of battle was fading as General Holt and his remaining staff rowed away from Arendelle. There was nothing stopping their escape now. Upon casting off from the castle, one of the schooners that remained in the fjord intercepted them. Thankfully they hadn't shot them on sight and it took a hefty bribe to convince the captain of said ship to let them go. A large chunk of the crown's fortune had bought them their freedom.

Aboard the schooner, Commander Bergdahl handed the 'bribe' to his first mate.

"It was a good thing the general decided to return her majesty's money to the treasury. How gracious." The commander watched the small dinghy sail away with disgust. _The nerve of that traitor._ "You may fire at will."

The time between firing and impact had been too short for General Holt to register.

* * *

The surviving guards at the castle surrendered almost at once. Marines spread out to secure the castle as Elise stood in the courtyard alone. All the ice around her disappeared.

The doors to the castle, only meters ahead of her now, cracked open. A flash of red caught Elise's attention, forcing her to painfully look up.

Elise only registered one thing around her. Anna's face was poking out the door. Elise sighed in content and relief. It was like a distant dream as she watched Anna spring towards her. Anna was maybe halfway when Elise's vision went black

Anna reached Elise just in time to catch her mid-fall.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta readers, Mig and Rd.
> 
> The end of this story is getting close now. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any questions, comments, or reviews.
> 
> Merry Christmas.


	26. Liberation

The first sign of Arendelle's liberation came when they were about a day's march north of the city. The cheers of jubilation from the marching ranks of her men reached Elsa's entourage before the returning scouts. They was nothing else to report as they had only witnessed the royal standard flying over the castle and royal ships lining the harbor, but it was enough to know that assault had succeeded.

Though the knowledge that Arendelle was liberated was relieving, the ignorance over the state of her lover and sister as well as the casualties suffered was an insecurity that hung over Elsa in the same manner the North Mountain loomed over her like a constant reminder of her past cowardice.

But the currently visible North Mountain could loom all it wanted. Elsa wasn't running away from her kingdom or duty this time. This time she was marching to defend it in battle.

The next day, the forward elements of her army reached the outskirts of the city. By the time Elsa and her staff reached the outskirts as well, there were two companies of Royal Marines waiting to join Elsa's formation.

As much as Elsa wanted to turn around and make a mad dash into the city, she knew she couldn't. They had to reach the southern passes with haste and there was no time to stop. Elsa issued her orders for the reinforcements to join them–she had already quickly formulated a plan for them–and continued on as if reaching the city outskirts meant nothing.

A sudden noise at her rear caught Elsa's attention. There was no ignoring the sudden commotion coming from the city gates as Elsa's entourage left them behind. Elsa knew what was going before she even managed to turn around to look.

"Anna?!" Elsa half-croaked, half-cried as she saw her little sister galloping behind her with a guard of marines desperately trying to keep up. She almost didn't believe it.

Elsa didn't even bother handing off her horse as she hopped down and covered the distance on her feet. Anna did the same.

"Oh, Anna!" she cried as they met in each other's arms. Elsa pulled her close, disregarding all formalities and decorum as she held her sister tight and cried.

"Elsa, I missed you so much," Anna cried, her voice quavering as she spoke. "Please, don't ever leave me again."

"Oh, Anna, my dear, I'll never leave you again I promise," Elsa assured her. "I missed you so much as well. I was lost without you."

They continued, on the side of the road on the outskirts of Arendelle as the army marched past them, whimpering in each other's arms for several moments as if the world around them didn't exist.

But the world did exist and Elsa had to get back into it. More importantly, there was someone who was more important than the world to Elsa that was still missing. Now that she had Anna safely back in her arms, it was time to wonder where she was.

"Anna, where is Elise?" Elsa asked, pulling away just enough to look into her eyes. Elsa had to look into those eyes after all those weeks without them. "Where is my wife?"

Elsa had been confident over the past day that Elise was alright. The royal standard wouldn't have flown over the castle if she wasn't. But she hadn't joined Anna to come see Elsa. She could have been busy still, but...

...but the way Anna turned her eyes away from Elsa's said otherwise. Elsa's grip on Anna tightened.

"She's...I don't know," Anna whispered.

"What do you mean, 'I don't know'?" Elsa quickly stammered, feeling her heart constrict.

"It means I don't know," Anna repeated, pulling back from Elsa sharply. "She's alive but..."

"But what?" Elsa demanded. Her hands trembled as she stuck them into her uniforms pockets, hoping they would act as makeshift gloves.

"She collapsed in my arms, Elsa. I convinced my rescuers to hide out in the castle until she arrived. I went out to her when the battle was over and she collapsed right there. She's been in a coma ever since, she won't wake up," Anna confessed.

Elsa didn't know what to say and instead she pulled Anna back and cried on her shoulder. Neither girl cared about the austere looks coming from the passing soldiers or the command staff that was pretending not to watch.

"She has a lot of cuts and bruises. She was hurt really bad. They think she broke a rib as well," Anna continued on. "Her leg was injured badly too, Elsa. It was very deep. They-they're not sure if she'll be able to walk again because she kept freezing it to stop the pain. I'm so sorry, but no one knows if she'll ever wake up," Anna apologized.

"Don't be, Anna," Elsa whimpered. "It wasn't your fault."

"Maybe, but if I wasn't in Arendelle, maybe she wouldn't have pushed herself so hard."

"Oh, Anna, you're too good," Elsa complimented. The news wasn't as bad as it could have been. Elise may have been injured possibly never to wake up again, but at least they both were alive. Regardless, she still was going to fight for that.

"Anna, I hate to do this to you, but I need to go again. Just one last time I promise."

"I know," Anna answered, already trusting in her decision. "Please, come home safe."

"I promise." Elsa gave Anna another squeeze, then willed herself to let go. Giving her a kiss on her forehead, Elsa willed herself again to depart.

"Wait!" Anna cried out as Elsa turned to go. She turned to see Anna running up to her guard and grabbing a package which she quickly handed over to Elsa. "It's a report from me and Admiral Hoffman. Everything you need to know is in here."

_That's right, if Elise was incapacitated, Anna would have had to take over._

"You took care of Arendelle?" Elsa asked foolishly.

"Well, Admiral Hoffman is since Chancellor Jakobsen is still recovering. I just helped," the princess explained.

Somehow, Elsa didn't believe that. After departing and leaving Anna and Arendelle behind, Elsa went over said report and realized that had been right. Anna had deserved far more credit than was due in her efforts to return Arendelle to normalcy according to the report. Recovery was just as important as the liberation itself and Anna was doing it almost flawlessly.

It filled Elsa with pride, but also heartbreak. Today Elsa realized that despite loving Anna more than anything in the world, she had always treated her like a child, too immature and rash to make serious decisions. Her own surprise was proof of that.

There would be no more underestimating Anna in the future.

* * *

 

They were out there. They were coming. An army of Norwegian nationalists, courtesy of the Swedish king no doubt.

Elsa waited and watched from her perch, an icy bunker built on the side of a hill, overlooking the valley that they enemy was going to come through.

They had to come through, Elsa had blocked off the other valleys with large walls of ice, too high to climb and too thick to break through. Not to mention this particular valley was the main road into Arendelle. They could go over the hills, but doing so would mean leaving their heavy equipment behind while facing constant harassment by Elsa's limited cavalry section. And if they got bogged down too much, Elsa could simply march her men out and pick them off as they clambered up the hillsides.

The enemy continued to march on, knowing full well that they were being funneled in. They had the confidence of superior numbers and were drunk off the few overwhelming victories they had achieved against unfortunate resisters as they pillaged through the Kingdom's countryside to reach their goal.

Elsa patiently waited as did her men that sat behind heavy fortifications of ice. Their guns sat in fortified batteries and covered all angles of the field to maximum effect. The first line of troops, the best and most experienced, sat in ramparts made of ice with artificial trenches. Above them sat more troops in fortified walls that could provide a constant stream of covering fire. Sharpened stakes of ice shot out of the ground across the field in front of their lines, to discourage direct cavalry attacks and to break up approaching formations. They extended far enough to discourage skirmishers as well. Elsa even covered the arena in a slick layer of ice, enough to keep their footing difficult, but not enough to ruin the landscape. After all, all this was temporary and after the battle ended it would go away as if nothing was ever there.

Elsa hoped that the sight of her fortress alone would convince the enemy to turn around and surrender to avoid further bloodshed. Unfortunately, Elsa knew that the chance of the enemy just surrendering upon seeing Elsa's fortress was slim. It was far more likely that they would simply find new targets if they turned around. She neither had the resources nor the men to pursue an army of that size across the countryside. It had to end here.

The only assurance that Elsa had was that winter was fast approaching and the enemy knew it as well, coupled with the fact that the enemy army had no supply train to speak of since they apparently only carried enough to get them to Arendelle. If they tried to find a way around Elsa they wouldn't reach Arendelle before winter took hold and they'd be stuck exposed to its elements with no supplies. If they tried to build an encampment now, this close to Arendelle, Elsa could use her forces that were safely sheltered within the city to harass their encampment all winter long until their supplies ran out. They could try getting as far away from Arendelle as possible while using the land and pillaging for supplies as Elsa feared, but that meant abandoning all hope of ever taking Arendelle. Their only options was going through Elsa or surrender. Elsa prepared herself for the former.

The first contact had been with light cavalry that Elsa spotted scoping out her positions in the early morning. Enemy cannons were set up shortly afterwards as ranks upon ranks of enemy soldiers formed up.

The enemy bombardment started around mid-morning. Elsa made the fruitless attempt at trying to intercept the enemy's fire with her own ice before realizing it was nigh impossible. Instead she watched cannon and shell slam into the icy walls of their fortress. The best she could do was repair the damages as they were made. That and adjust the set-up as problems arose. She had noticed that impacts on the walls would send chunks and shards of ice down on the men in the trenches below, so she added cover above their heads. Another issue arose with the ice walls themselves. Though Elsa had made them thick enough to withstand direct hits, they would still shower the interior with shards of ice when impacted on the outside by cannon fire. Unfortunately, several men had been killed by the time Elsa had been giving word of the problem.

With Elsa constantly working, the enemy barrage was having no effect. Still, several men had been killed by the barrage and a few of her guns had been knocked out by direct hits. Elsa was in fear the entire time, but not for her own life, but because she feared that her officers would ask her to silence the enemy guns herself. Elsa dreaded the inevitable moment when they would ask her for direct involvement. She was still not ready to kill.

The first sign that something was wrong came when the first enemy troops started approaching across the icy field. Elsa was no military genius, but she knew what a foolish mistake it would have been to attack her fortress directly.

_What is their leadership thinking?_

As the ranks marched forward, Elsa realized that they hadn't noticed the stakes of ice that peppered the field. She made the stakes strong...and very clear, a very big–in Elsa's eyes at least–oversight. Elsa grimaced as the first line approached an outcropping of the deadly things, hoping that they'd see them in time. Though the first rank saw them in time and tried to stop on the slippery ice, there was nothing they could do as the troops behind them kept going forward without an order to halt. Elsa held up a trembling hand as several men were impaled by their own comrades, ready to thaw the spikes of ice in an instant. Instead she closed her fist and dropped her hand to her side, squeezing her eyes shut to avert her gaze.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting that," one of her officers commented, apparently very aware of her internal struggle whether to thaw the stakes or not. Elsa remained silent but opened one of her eyes to take a peek at the situation.

It seemed the enemy's advance had gone awry as they realized how many stakes were there. Ranks broke up and formations broke down as the enemy attempted to maneuver around the patches of stakes. There was a complete breakdown in coordination and cohesion, but they kept advancing.

"They're going to be slaughtered," Elsa observed as she approached the slit in her bunker to get a better look, trying to figure at what the enemy was planning. At the moment, it appeared like absolutely nothing, but Elsa didn't want to get her hopes up yet.

"It doesn't make sense, your majesty," the same officer said. "They should be falling back and rethinking their strategy."

But they continued on, albeit much slower which exposed them to the cannon fire longer. Curiosity overcame Elsa's earlier emotions as she leaned out a little more, desperate to figure out the enemy's intentions. It was such a hopeless fight and she wanted to know why they even bothered.

When they reached their front lines, it really was a slaughter. In some cases, ranks of line infantry or militia came into firing range before the light infantry that Elsa knew were supposed to make contact first. Fire was exchanged, but the attackers were making such little progress while their own ranks were being cut down. Already troops were starting to run, even before all their forces came to bear. The only true resistance was coming from skirmishers and light infantry as they harassed her lines using whatever cover they could find.

Twice the enemy was brave enough to charge the line, hoping others would follow. The first time they had covered the distance rather quickly and Elsa almost hesitated before she threw up a small hump in the ground that tripped up almost the entire charge. It ruined whatever second thoughts about following that the rest of the enemy had. With their momentum gone, the enemy soldiers hastily got to their feet and ran. The second charge didn't even make it close enough for Elsa to act before they turned and ran themselves.

By now, the enemy was retreating en masse. Elsa sighed in relief and ordered her own guns silent when the last enemy troops disengaged as their own guns fell silent too.

"That was truly a slaughter," Elsa breathed as she slumped against the wall. And a work out for herself, both physically and mentally.

"They might try for another assault. They still have fresh troops," one of her officers pointed out.

"In the meantime, order our troops to rest and restock their ammunition. Send word to the marines to prepare to move out on my signal, I have a feeling that our friends are up to something. Wake me if there are any developments," Elsa ordered as her eyelids slowly shut. Elsa didn't even hear their acknowledgment as she quickly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 

Several hours later, Elsa was awoken by the sound of cannon fire impacting near her bunker.

Elsa jumped to her feat, wide awake, as she stumbled to figure out her surroundings. When she got her bearing she turned to her staff just as another shell impacted close by.

"Enemy troops are approaching again, your majesty. Their guns opened up as well, they all seem to be targeting our bunker," one of them reported.

"We also just received word that enemy light infantry have made contact with your personal guard on the hill top. Our men managed to turn them around, but there is no doubt they were heading this way," another one reported.

Elsa turned to watch the battle outside unfold. Enemy troops approached just as unorganized as before, though at least this time they knew where to go.

"Chop off the head and the snake dies," someone else murmured. Quite literally in this case, if Elsa was killed, the entire fortress would collapse and thaw, killing all her men in it.

"I don't understand," Elsa observed. "They're targeting me because they know I'm the key here, but you would think..."

"There are even less guns firing now than earlier. And it seems like they aren't even trying to hit anything," an officer commented, finishing Elsa's observation of the enemy's half-hearted attempt to take her out.

"I didn't think we destroyed that many of their guns?" Elsa asked.

"You're right."

The bunker remained silent, except for the shuddering of a few close hits, as Elsa watched the battle unfold a second time. It went similar to the first attack, but with even less vigor from the attackers. There wasn't a single unit that lasted longer than a few minutes in battle before breaking up and retreating. It was over quickly.

Elsa waited until the retreating enemy was a good distance away before sweeping her hand across the field. Ice sheets and stakes disappeared in one swift wind. "Order the cavalry forward, I want to know what's going on," Elsa ordered.

Her cavalry scouts returned with a report quickly. By now Elsa gone down to the battlefield, confident at what her scouts would report. She just wished the bodies and blood would have went away with the ice. She covered everything in her immediate area with a layer of fresh white snow while she waited.

"Retreating?" one of her officers exclaimed.

"Yes, sir," the mounted dragoon confirmed. "They're running and leaving everything behind. It's chaos out there. Shall we pursue, your majesty?"

Elsa thought about it. It would be best to reign in as many as they could before they made a mess of the countryside and while the still had them partially contained. "Yes, I'll release the marines and you will work with them, but try to take as many alive as possible."

With that, Elsa sent up her magical burst, just like Elise had done days before, to signal her marines to move out for cut off and capture. Somewhere down the valley, a large wall of ice dissipated before the very eyes of the enemy. Two companies of Royal Marines–American marines in reality–waited for them as the wall came down.

* * *

 

Not more than a day later, Elsa was riding on her way home. The battle was over just like that. The fortress that had once loomed over the valley but a distant memory, one she wished not to relive.

Unbeknownst to Elsa was that the nationalist's leadership had already broken down before the battle even started. Word of Arendelle's liberation as well as word of Sweden's complete abandonment of support reached the ears of the command staff and they fled, leaving the unfortunate souls with orders to continue the assault. With no adjusted orders coming from above, the inexperienced local commanders ordered their troops forwards as is. A few brave commanders tried to take command for the second assault where they attempted the half-hearted assault on Elsa herself, but all organization and order broke down. Troops were fleeing even before the second assault took place.

It was unfortunate, but the best case scenario for Elsa short of the enemy outright surrendering their entire force. Even though some had managed to flee back into the wilderness, she had managed to capture most of them with her cavalry and marines. It brought the ones that were to now loot the countryside to a manageable level. It also provided Elsa with an excellent labor force, along with the captured conspirators in Arendelle. There would be a lot of rebuilding to be done and ships that needed enlisted crews for sure. Elsa already planned on returning these men to their families in Norway, but they were going to work for their freedom first. And then there was all the left over equipment, modern quality guns included, that they had left behind for Elsa's taking, all courtesy of the Swedish King no doubt.

But Elsa couldn't forget or stop mulling over the casualties. Several hundred dead and even more wounded that now Arendelle had to take care of. That was on the enemy side. To Elsa's greatest relief, her losses had only been in the dozens.

It was a complete and utter victory, but not as great as Elsa realized until she entered the city.

Word of her victory had spread fast.

The streets of Arendelle were lined with banners, flags, and cheering citizens that were all focused on Elsa as her entourage passed along. Elsa could only smile and wave meekly. This far surpassed what she had experienced in Trondheim and it caught her off-guard.

 _I didn't know I was this popular._  
  
Not once had she ever really considered how much her people actually cared for her. Based on that report from Anna and her own eyes now, Elsa could safely say that they adored her.

Elsa couldn't help swelling with pride and it would have went to her head had she not had a clear goal set out for her. It lay at the end of this road.

_First, Anna, then Elise, then my bed...or whatever bed Elise is in, I don't care how small it is or who see's, I'm joining her._

Elsa gripped the reigns of her horse as the castle loomed ahead. She just wanted to let go and gallop the rest of the distance, but the cheering crowds slowed their progress and Elsa didn't want to show disrespect to their gratitude by rushing away.

_The soldiers would be streaming in for hours after me. The people will have forgotten about me when they're done with the real heroes anyway._

So set on her goal that Elsa never bothered to see for herself how bad Arendelle had been damaged. The thought that this was her first time home in over almost two months wasn't able to cross her mind either.

_I'm at the bridge, I'm almost there._

They crossed the bridge and left the cheering crowds behind.

_There's the gate._

Elsa didn't notice it was in the process of repair. Again.

_I'm home. I'm finally home._

Elsa started to tear up as she entered the courtyard. Marines, a temporary royal guard, lined her approach, but she paid them no mind.

Elsa barely registered the councilmen or officers waiting for her at the door. Her entire attention was drawn to the princess who was bouncing on her heels. Elsa dropped all pomp and ceremony as she abandoned her horse and ran to her little sister. She grabbed her in an embrace and tried to fight back tears. She buried her face in Anna's shoulder when she failed.

"I can hear them from here, they absolutely love you, Elsa. You're a hero," Anna finally said.

"Stop, I just want it to be over. All the death, I'm so sick of it, I want it to stop," Elsa begged.

"Elsa, it is over. You did it. You and Elise both. You saved Arendelle," Anna cooed. "It's over now. We're all home together now."

"Really?" Elsa asked, not sure suddenly if this was just a cruel dream or reality.

"Yes, now come on inside," Anna said and she started walking her towards the castle, careful to keep her sisters sobbing face from view. "The Queen will not being seeing anyone until the morning," Anna announced to the men that had been waiting for the queen by the door. "If anything is to arise, you will come to me first, understand?"

Anna ignored the chorus of "Yes, your highness" as she brought Elsa through the doors. They shut behind them, locking Elsa and Anna in privacy. Finally.

"I want to see Elise," Elsa whimpered. Her stomach twisted in knots, the reality of Elise's condition were finally coming to light. Maybe Elsa didn't want to see her like that as much as she thought.

"Elsa, I have a surprise for you," Anna teased. Elsa's eyes lit up. "Come on out," she said to the room.

Elsa detached herself from Anna immediately as Elise came out from behind a corner.

"Surprise," Elise squeaked.

"Elsy," Elsa whispered before flying towards the twin, grabbing her and planting kisses all over her face.

"She awoke this morning," Anna pointed out as Elsa ran. "Isn't it a miracle?" But Anna's question was left unanswered.

"Okay, okay," Elise stammered as she tried to get away. Elsa froze when she heard Elise wince in pain.

"I'm so sorry, did I hurt you?" Elsa started to cry.

"No, no, it's okay," Elise tried assuring her. "It's just my leg."

Elsa's eyes traveled down to one of Elise's hands. It was resting atop a cane. "I might have to use this for now on," Elise answered Elsa's unanswered question. "Unless I figure out a way to use my powers on it," she quickly added.

"I'm sorry," Elsa apologized and lowered her head.

"Don't be." Elise lifted Elsa's chin up. "It was worth it to see you two again."

"Not to break up your moment of staring longingly into each other's eyes," Anna interjected. "But there are tons of people looking to talk to you both just waiting to barge in at any moment and a bed with both of your names on it. Maybe you should continue this elsewhere?"

"You're right," Elise agreed. "I'm dreadfully tired still. Please join me in bed, Els, so we can sleep until forever. I want to hold you in my arms again."

"I could do that," was all Elsa said as they hooked arms to leave.

"You too, Anna," Elsa said as she grabbed the youngest. "I won't sleep until I have both of you in my arms."

"Oh-oh okay," Anna stammered.

The three sisters fell asleep within minutes and no one dared to disturb them. Peace had finally returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta readers, Mig and road.
> 
> I've been going with a headcanon that using powers takes energy and can tired or stress them out depending on what they do. Obviously, as explained in chapter 24, range is is a factor as is what they're doing. Like Elise's snowflakes for example require a lot extra energy and concentration. Anyway, the point is that apparently one of the upcoming chapter books has apparently confirmed that Elsa can get tired out from using her powers too much. 
> 
> I should probably point out, if I haven't said anything before, that the end is very fast approaching.
> 
> Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any questions, comments, or reviews.


	27. Love Will Thaw

The coup was over and peace returned to Arendelle. The monarchy was restored and though rebuilding would take time, Arendelle was going to make it through the winter without further crisis. The dead were mourned and the wounded nursed back to health. The Royal Guard was rebuilt as was Elsa's new royal council. Enlisted sailors, eager to leave naval service, were offered positions to help rebuild the crown's traitorous army. Their replacements were none other than the prisoners of war the Elsa had captured and the traitorous soldiers that had surrendered to Elise's marines. Queen Elsa made it clear that to regain their freedom, they would have to serve time in the royal navy and merchant navy. The lucky ones were used as labor to help rebuild the damages done to Arendelle.

All thoughts of revolution or nationalism died when word spread of the deaths of General Holt and Minister Hansen. Other leaders had been sentenced to death as well, but Queen Elsa pardoned them all. Her chief of secret police had disappeared during the coup, leaving the crown to rebuild the once powerful secret service that had failed so catastrophically. It would have been a dangerous time following the coup, had it not been for the unconditional love the people had for their two queens. The army that had been raised in Trondheim was beyond loyal to Elsa for her part in the Battle of the Southern Pass and kept in Arendelle for the time being as the American marines departed Arendelle in the ice ships that Elsa had finally got the chance to load.

Combined with Anna's initial management of the rebuilding process, Arendelle's recovery was going beyond well. As was the royal family's recovery. Anna recovered as if nothing had ever happened. With her sisters safely back in her life, Elsa was finally sleeping well again too though occasionally she would awake in a cold sweat after reliving a bad experience in her dreams. Elise seemed to have it worse though, no doubt with her own night terrors. Her physical injuries healed well – aside from the terrible limp that would plague her for the rest of her life –meanwhile Elise's psychological injuries showed no signs of getting better despite how well Elise tried to hide it during the day. Elsa might have been the only one to notice Elise's lack of sleep during the day, though she definitely noticed it at night. She would toss and turn all night trying to sleep, not enough to keep Elsa awake, but enough for her to notice. When she did sleep, more often than not she would wake screaming in fear. There was little Elsa could do to comfort her.

It was beginning to nag at Elsa more than anything that plagued her management of the kingdom, even the looming diplomatic crisis with Sweden that the coup had caused. That was a crisis for down the road though. For now, with Arendelle secure, Elise was Elsa's only crisis.

* * *

_I need to get her mind off this somehow. I just don't know what._

Elsa mulled to herself as she ran her hand over Elise bare stomach. A year later and she was still searching for that shard of ice that Elise was convinced didn't exist. But it had become a nightly tradition and Elsa had several weeks to catch up on. Not like Elise didn't enjoy it regardless – having Elsa fondle her naked midsection every night. Elsa knew she loved it, no matter how much she complained.

_But she can't keep living like this forever. Even just a distraction will be more than enough, just enough to give her a good night's sleep._

Elise might have been right though. A whole year had passed since Elsa had started this ritual and she hadn't found anything yet. She had studied female anatomy religiously over the past months and Elsa was sure she knew exactly where to look. But she wasn't finding anything and the womb was only so big.

It was good practice at honing her skills regardless. Elsa was convinced that wherever this ice shard was, it had to be in the size range of something that could only be seen by a microscope. So honed in were her powers though, that Elsa was already able to detect ice in smaller amounts than maybe even a microscope could see. Once she had even tried an experiment, after reading about the discovery of microorganisms, by freezing a small cup of water. Elsa was shocked to discover thousands, if not millions of individual frozen objects outlined in the ice that were completely invisible to the eye. She could feel them, but couldn't see anything. It was very unnerving, but thankfully it required so much concentration that Elsa would never have to worry about always feeling those things on a daily basis. She went on pretending she had seen nothing.

That was neither here nor there though, as Elise flinched under Elsa's touch.

"Did that tickle?" Elsa asked. Elise nodded, finally tossing her book to the side.

"Gah, Elsa, I wish you could see how ridiculous this is," Elise teased, covering her eyes with her arm in an overly dramatic pose.

"It is not," Elsa argued, returning her concentration to the stomach below her. Elsa's eyes briefly traveled down to Elise's naked left thigh. The sickening scar that haunted her every time Elsa traveled between her wife's legs stared back. She grimaced and once again returned her concentration to the task at hand.

"So, Elsa," Elise began, "I'm serious about this thing with Anved."

"I said I would support whatever you wanted to do," Elsa quickly replied. Ever since the liberation, Elise's relationship with Anved – that is, Admiral Anved Hoffman – had taken a dramatic development. Elsa always thought she could see a father-daughter relationship developing between them, but now they had taken it a step further. Admiral Hoffman...Anved had actually requested to take Elise up for adoption. It didn't really mean anything since Elise was an adult – and the queen – but apparently it meant a lot to both Elise and the childless admiral.

"I know it means we won't be sisters anymore and is disrespectful to our parents," Elise apologized.

_Oh, she's so dense._

"Elise, it's not-"

"I just can't view our- _your_ parents as my own," Elise continued over Elsa. "I'm sorry."

Elsa sighed. "I know, Elsy. And I understand why. They were never there for you. Anved is more of a father to you than..." Elsa choked on her next words. "...mine ever was."

"Thanks for understanding, Els. I love you."

"I love you too, but could you please get rid of this ridiculous idea that we won't be sisters anymore. There is nothing different between what we are now and what we are after a few documents get changed." _We hardly fit the definitions of sisters now._

"Yeah, I suppose...but I guess we will still be married, so we have that. And that would make Anna my sister-in-law so I guess you're right," Elise pondered out loud.

Elsa just rolled her eyes and stayed quiet. _So dense..._

"It's a good thing he knows about us...and accepts it," Elise went on. "Elsa, do you think we should give him a title?"

Elsa smiled to herself. "Actually, I meant to talk to you about that."

"Oh?" Elise lit up like the sun.

"Yes, he's set to retire in a few months, correct?"

"Next year, actually," Elise answered.

"Ah, well, when he does, for his service to Arendelle and my beautiful wife, I will grant him the title of count. How's that sound?"

"I think he'd appreciate that, thanks Els."

Elsa's eyes suddenly went wide. She...she had found it.

_No way..._

A second later, Elise's body convulsed. "Ahh! Elsa, what the hell was that?" she stammered. Elsa had wasted no time thawing the shard.

"I did it" Elsa murmured, ignoring Elise's question. "I did it, Elsy," she repeated louder.

"What? You did what? That kind of hurt."

"I found the ice shard and removed it," Elsa exclaimed as she crawled up Elise's side and kissed her before snuggling up to her. "Aren't you excited?"

Elise leaned up and looked her bare stomach over. She ran her fingers over her skin. She didn't feel any different, but Elsa was so ecstatic. Maybe Elsa had been right all along. Elise had never really believed in Elsa's explanation for her infertility.

Elsa was beyond ecstatic. She hung onto Elise with such energy that she suddenly wasn't sure if she could sleep tonight. All the practice and work and Elsa finally did it.

She finally did it...but now that meant she didn't have to do it anymore. It dampened her spirits the more she thought about it. This was supposed to be her therapeutic ritual she did every night. Now she had no reason to do it.

_Maybe I shouldn't have thawed it._

Besides her, Elise was also feeling less than ecstatic. Despite what she made it sound to Elsa, Elise actually enjoyed the way Elsa's search tickled and it was always a bonding experience. Not to mention, since their wedding, it made it so much easier to coax Elsa into pleasuring her while she was already in the area. Now though...

Then there was the whole fertility thing. If Elsa had been right that meant Elise was going to regain her fertility. Which meant... _oh God no_...the same monthly visits that plagued Elsa and Anna. Elise shuddered.

_Maybe I should put it back._

They would both fall asleep less than pleased.

* * *

**Two months later...**

The throne room was mostly empty when Kristoff, dressed in some of the nicest clothes Elsa had ever seen him wear, tentatively approached the two queens. It was early in the morning and Elsa and Elise sat on their respective thrones, waiting for the hustle of holding court to begin. Elsa eyed the ice harvester curiously as he approached, it was an odd situation indeed.

Elsa was getting a sinking feel, wondering why Kristoff would approach them so officially. She had her theories though and quickly flashed a glance at Elise, who didn't return her look, before resuming her attention on Kristoff. She wanted to see what Elise was thinking, but she hadn't been feeling well lately, which explained why she was more absentminded.

"Mr. Bjorgman, what can we do for you?" Elsa asked preemptively when he arrived in front of her. Usually in court, they introduced themselves first, but Elsa wanted to see if he would keep up this official charade.

He did. "Good morning, your majesties," he greeted nervously as he quickly bowed.

He was absolutely shaking under their gaze, his hands fidgeting as he began to speak. Elsa leaned in closer to listen. "Your majesties, I've come today with a great request, if you would allow me to make it?"

"Go ahead," Elsa said. Her eyes darted to Elise, who was watching Kristoff intently as well.

"I humbly request permission to take Princess Anna's hand in marriage and to receive the blessing of the crown for our marriage," Kristoff quickly stated.

Elsa sort of had been expecting this, but her expression remained blank as silence descended on the throne room. Elsa looked up, just in time to catch the flash of Anna's hair as she pulled her head back behind a pillar.

Elsa returned her attention to Kristoff, who was patiently waiting for an answer.

"I see," Elsa began, turning to Elise. "What do you think, Queen Elise? Should we allow this man to take our darling sister's hand in marriage?"

Elise's answer to Elsa's question was to vomit. Thankfully, she managed to summon a bucket out of ice just in time to catch it, otherwise Elsa would be left to hold court alone.

"Oh, come on!" Anna yelled as she ran out from her hiding spot, very offended. "Don't be a jerk."

"I'm...sorry?" Kristoff apologized to the twins, unsure what he had caused.

Elsa leaned over to pat Elise's back as she continued to heave into the bucket. "Don't worry, it wasn't you," Elsa explained, returning to the casual tone she usually held with the man. "Elise hasn't been feeling well lately. Mornings aren't a good time for her."

"What's wrong with her?" Kristoff asked. It was as if everyone had forgotten about the marriage proposal except for Anna, who was off to the side, tapping her foot.

"We don't know and she's too stubborn to see the physician," Elsa answered.

"She's probably pregnant," Anna chided. "Now can we please get back to the..."

"I'm not pregnant," Elise interrupted as she pulled her face away from the bucket. Telling Anna about the ice shard had been a huge mistake, because ever since Elise had started getting sick, Anna teased her about being pregnant. It was impossible, more so because it appeared from Elise's lack of monthlies, that she was still infertile after all. So much for Elsa's theory.

"Stop it, Anna, that's simply not possible and it's rude," Elsa pointed out.

Anna crossed her arms and huffed. "Well, she is getting fatter," she mumbled.

"Anna! That's enough," Elsa scolded the younger princess. Though she had a point, Elsa had noticed that Elise was definitely gaining weight despite this illness she seemed to have. "Are you going to be okay, Elise?" she asked her twin.

Elise nodded and handed the bucket off to Kai, who appeared promptly at the sound of her heaving. "I'll be fine." Kai took off with the bucket. This was becoming too much of a routine.

"Can we get back to the important topic here?" Anna called out, waving her arms to make get attention.

"Oh, right. So Kristoff, you want to marry our sister?" Elsa asked.

Kristoff quickly nodded his head. "Yes, your majesties."

"Oh, please drop the formalities, quite frankly I don't see why Anna put you up to this." Elsa caught Kristoff give Anna a quick look. Anna made sure to look somewhere else. "So, Elsy, what do you think?"

"Are you going to puke again?" Anna quipped causing Elise to glare back at her.

"That isn't why I threw...never mind," Elise started. "Hmmm, I'm not sure here. What do you think, Els?"

"Well..."

"Oh, come on, I've been with Kristoff for over a year," Anna stomped her foot towards Elsa's throne. "That's longer than you two knew each other," Anna quickly added under her breath. A valid point that Elsa knew Anna would never let them forget.

Elsa tried to keep herself from snorting, but failed. Elise would have probably too if she had been feeling better. "Okay, okay. I think you've earned it at least. Elise?"

"Whatever, fine," she answered, pretending to concede. Elsa and Elise had discussed this of course. Between their own wedding and all that they had been through together, Elsa was expecting the question to come up sooner rather than later. The twins concluded they would play hard to get, but with Elise's poor state and the fact that the throne room would be swarming with people very soon, they had to cut their act short. A shame though and possible a ploy on Anna's part.

Anna's mood quickly changed. "Oh, Elsa, are you serious?"

"Of course," Elsa said as Anna threw her arms around her.

"Oh, thank you, Elsa!"

She tried moving over to Elise next, but she held up her hand as her other one came up to cover her mouth and she shooed Anna away. Anna stepped down from the thrones and threw herself into Kristoff's arms.

"Thank you both," Kristoff said. "This is such an honor, I will be the best husband to you sister, I swear."

Elsa nodded to him before speaking to Anna. "Now, don't you have a wedding to plan?"

Anna perked up. "Yes, that's right. Come on, Kristoff, we have to start planning," she yelled as she pulled the man across the throne room to the exit.

Elsa smiled as the couple left. She was so proud of her Anna. Her eyes even started to water, it was now her little sister's turn to get married.

Elsa's joyous moment was interrupted as Elise leaned over her thrown and threw up into another bucket. "I'm sorry," she cried. "I ruined the moment."

Elsa jumped up from her seat to comfort her wife. "Elise, this is getting out of hand. You've been sick for almost three weeks now. You need to see the doctor."

Elise shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. I'm getting better in fact." That wasn't true, Elise wasn't making improvement. But she wasn't worsening either. Still, it made Elsa nervous.

"Even your father's worried about you," Elsa pleaded, referring to Elise's newly adopted father. The documents had finally been modified and signed. Technically that gave Elsa a father-in-law, which was a rather interesting concept to cope with, nonetheless she figured the more family the better. And now it was going to get bigger so.

Elise shook her head again. She was too stubborn, so Elsa conceded again. "Can you at least rest? I can handle court alone today,"

"Fine," Elise groaned.

_I'm sure the people won't mind one bit. Though I should really have kept Anna here. Oh, but she'd be too busy jumping off the walls with excitement. She's probably already has the entire guest list worked out. I should probably keep my eye on her planning, I don't need her sending a million 'You're not invited' letters to Hans._

Elsa spotted Kai quickly reentering the throne room.

"Your majesties, everyone else is ready when..." He trailed off when he spotted Elise's second bucket.

"Kai, please escort my sister to our chambers, she needs to rest," Elsa ordered. "And please get rid of this bucket."

Kai summoned another servant to dispose of the bucket and approached Elise to help her up, but she shooed him off. She grabbed her cane and dismounted the throne, shooting Elsa an apologetic look before departing with Kai.

Elsa watched her limp away with worry. Though Elise had built herself a contraption out of ice to stop her limp on the spot during the liberation of Arendelle, she could not for the life of her remember how to rebuild it now. She was still working on replicating it, but now this sickness was hampering her efforts.

Elsa tried to calm her mind. There was no point mulling over what was wrong with her while she had a job to do. Besides, Elsa had already gone through every possibility she could think of.

Food poising, complications from her injuries sustained in battle, an ailment caused by her lack of sleep, an allergic reaction...there were many possibilities. Except pregnancy, which Anna frequently teased about. That was simply out of the question so much that even now Elsa had to suppress a laugh at the ridiculous thought.

_Oh, Anna, you and your crazy ideas._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta readers, Mig and Rd.
> 
> Microscopes existed back then and the theory of microorganisms existed since the 1600s. That's something I learned while working on this chapter.
> 
> Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any questions, comments, or reviews.


	28. Little Frida

"Elsa, you stupid bitch! I hate you! I hate you! Ahhh!"

Anna winced when the cry pierced the waiting room. Sitting across from her, Anved was also trying not to acknowledge the foul language and screaming coming from the adjacent room.

"I'm so sorry, Elsy, oh God I'm sorry. I didn't do it, please, believe me. I didn't do anything," cried a pleading voice that Anna and Anved also pretended they weren't hearing.

"Ahh! Shut up! Just shut up! Ahh!"

The screams and cries continued as Anna twiddled her thumbs, wishing it would be over soon. Anved probably thought the same.

"Anna, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't it take a woman and a MAN to make a baby?" Olaf the snowman suddenly asked, bringing more tension into the room. Anna buried her face in her hands and regretted not kicking him out of the castle on this cold September night.

* * *

**Seven months earlier...**

"Elsa, we need to talk."

"Oh, Elise, there you are," Elsa said, not bothering to look up from her desk and the pile of paperwork that covered it as Elise walked over to her. "I was wondering where you were. What's the matter?"

But instead of receiving a reply, Elsa was only met with silence. She paused from her work to look up. The heavy breathing above her was the only indication of Elise's continued presence.

What she found when she looked up startled her. Elise was glaring down at her, unblinking, with her hands balled into fists at her sides. Elsa thought she could spot a trail of ice leading back to the study's door, but Elsa refused to remove her eyes from Elise to check.

"Elsy, w-what's wrong?" Elsa stammered.

Elise said nothing.

"Elsy, talk to me. You're scaring me."

Finally, after a tense minute that was sending Elsa over the edge, Elise relaxed her shoulders and sighed. She started speaking to Elsa calmly. "I went to see the physician today."

"Oh, good, what-what did he say?"

Elise didn't answer.

"Elise?"

"Do you remember a few months ago when we were lying in bed?" Elise asked.

"Uh, what? I-uh-that could be a lot of times," Elsa stumbled over her words. "Elsy, what's going on? You need to tell me now."

But Elise ignored her as she continued her questioning. "You remember the day you 'thawed' that 'ice shard' right?"

Elsa looked up at her blankly and swallowed. She remembered that time for sure. "Y-yes."

_So, it worked after all._

Elsa hadn't been expecting Elise to suddenly lunge forward and grab Elsa by the collar. "What did you do to me?" she yelled in Elsa's face.

"Elise, calm down please. It's just a natural thing that happens to all woman. Anna and I get it every month too," Elsa tried to explain, but she didn't add on that it shouldn't have caused Elise to be sick for weeks straight.

"What did you put in me?" Elise snarled through gritted teeth, ignoring the explanation.

Now it was really time for Elsa to be confused. Suddenly the door behind them burst open and Anna barged into the room.

"I heard screaming. What's wrong?" the younger girl asked. She took one step into the room and paused when she spotted Elsa and Elise.

Elise quickly turned her head and screamed back at her. "Get out!"

"Oookay." Anna slowly backed out of the room, closing the door behind her. They were alone again.

Elise returned her attention on Elsa, but said nothing further. Only the sound of her heavy breathing could be heard as the two twins stared each other down.

Elsa finally decided to break the silence. "Elsy, I don't know what you think I did, but you need to calm down and tell me what happened today."

Elise didn't say anything. Instead she broke down and started crying, loosening her grasp on Elsa in the process.

"Elsa, I'm pregnant."

* * *

It was late at night when Elsa arrived back from her study. It had finally reached the point where the workload had fallen on her completely, but it was only for a few more months.

Elsa quietly entered her room so not to disturb her sleeping wife, but found her awake instead. Elise still hadn't noticed her though and Elsa watched her stare up at the ceiling. Her lips were moving, but Elsa was too far away to hear her mumbling.

"What are you thinking about?" Elsa asked to get her attention. Elise still had trouble keeping her thoughts in her head.

"Huh? Oh, Els it's you. Oh, nothing," Elise said, her voice weak and tired. Elsa joined her in bed after changing into her nightgown and rested her head on Elise's large stomach. "How was work?"

"Fine," Elsa answered. She closed her eyes to listen more closely while Elise began to stroke her hair.

"What are you two still doing up anyway?" Elsa asked after a moment of trying to hear the faint heartbeat of their future child.

Elise had seemed to have gotten lost in her thoughts again while Elsa had been listening to her stomach. "Mmmm? Oh, I don't know, just thinking."

"What about?"

'I want chocolate. Can you get me some?"

Elsa's eyes snapped back opened and narrowed. She was dreadfully tired and it was already well past midnight. "Can't you wait till morning, Elsy?"

"But I want some now."

"Elise, please."

"Elsaaaaaaaa," Elise whined.

Elsa got off Elise's stomach and flopped her head back onto her pillow.

"Come on Elsa, please?" Elise urged, moving over and planting a sloppy kiss on Elsa's cheek, before snuggling her face into the crook of her neck.

Elsa ignored her.

"I'm going to die. I need chocolate," Elise continued to whine.

"You'll be fine, Elsy, just go to bed," Elsa snapped at her. She really didn't want to go all the way back downstairs just for some chocolate.

Elsa regretted her decision when Elise suddenly tensed up and stopped cuddling. "Oh, I see," she started. "It's alright, I forgot that it's okay to let someone starve to death, especially after you forced them to have your baby."

Elsa's growled on the inside and sat up quickly. _Not this shit again._

"Fine." She leaned back down, kissed Elise on the lips and then her stomach. "You're lucky I love you."

"Thanks, Elsa. Love you too," Elise called out as Elsa stormed out of the room in her nightgown.

Elsa grumbled to herself the whole way down until she finally reached the kitchens. She practically flew through the double doors, but stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing Anna sitting on a counter with a chocolate in her hand halfway up to her mouth.

"Anna!"

"Elsa!"

"What are you doing up?" Elsa asked.

Anna looked down at the piece of chocolate in her hand, then back to Elsa. "Uh, nothing."

Elsa shook her head. "It doesn't matter, just give me that chocolate."

Anna took the box that was sitting next to her and hugged it to her chest. "No way, get your own."

"Just give it to me so I can shut Elise up and go to bed," Elsa said through gritted teeth.

Anna tilted her head in Elsa's direction. "Elise wants chocolate?"

"Yes, now hand it over or I'll freeze your butt," Elsa threatened playfully.

"But I just gave her some not even a half an hour ago." Anna threw the piece of chocolate into her mouth and started chewing. "She practically inhaled the whole box in less than minute, she was like an animal," she continued with a full mouth.

Elsa paused. She was…not surprised really. "That brat."

"I know right? She's eating too much chocolate." Anna held up the box and waved it around. "This is the last box until they deliver more tomorrow."

Elsa had been about to say something, but quickly closed her mouth and pressed her lips together as she stared at Anna. Anna's face dropped as she gulped the piece of chocolate she had been chewing.

Both girls stood still as they stared each other down. Anna made the first move, quickly jumping off the counter to make a run for it. Elsa was faster though and froze Anna's feet to the floor as soon as they made contact.

"No, Elsa please," Anna begged as she tried to squirm free.

Elsa sauntered over with a grin on her face, plucking the box from Anna's grasp.

_Like taking a candy from a baby._

"Come on Elsa, not fair."

"Not fair?" Elsa flipped the lid of the box open to inspect the goods. Half still remained, so she decided to grab one out for herself. "Is it not fair to want a good night sleep without someone begging you for food or sex every other hour?"

Elsa plopped the chocolate in her mouth, keeping it sticking out just enough to for Anna to see. She stuck her face closer in to tease Anna, but miscalculated severely when Anna grabbed the back of Elsa's head and locked their lips together. Elsa managed to pull herself away, but not before feeling Anna's tongue slip into her mouth. When she pulled back the chocolate was gone.

Elsa dropped the ground gagging and spitting as Anna, feet still stuck to the floor, boasted above her.

"Ha!" she gloated after she finally swallowed the stolen piece.

"Bleh, that was disgusting," Elsa murmured to herself, getting back up. "Weirdo, I was going to invite you for a sleep over, but you know what, you can stay here now." Elsa turned to leave.

"Elsa no please, I'm sorry." Anna begged. "Please Elsa, you can't do this."

Elsa smirked to herself at the door. She paused and snapped her fingers, thawing the ice. "Oh, fine."

"Oh thank you, Elsa. I'm so sorry, it won't happen again." Anna quickly caught up to her as Elsa made her way back to her room.

"Doubtful," Elsa whispered to herself.

"So, sleep over?"

"Of course, Anna."

"You know, we seem to have a lot more sleep overs now than before Elise got pregnant," Anna observed. "Is it because I keep her from trying to have sex with you?"

"No," Elsa quickly answered, not even bothered that Anna would ask such a thing. _Yes._

"Why is she so horny now anyway?"

"I have no idea, but come on," Elsa said, pulling Anna close to her as they walked. "Let's get some sleep."

* * *

**Present**

Now there was silence. The screaming had subsided, as did Elsa's apologies. It made Anna happy, but also fidget in her seat.

"What if something went wrong?" Anna mused to herself.

"I'm sure everything went fine, your highness."

Anna jumped, forgetting that Anved was even in the room with her. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.

_He's right though. Everything is going to be okay._

Anna's heart leapt when the door opened and Gerda appeared. "You can come in now," she whispered. That invitation didn't include Olaf thankfully.

Anna tried to keep herself calm, it wasn't an appropriate situation to be bouncing up and running into the room. She wanted too, but she knew she couldn't.

Anna entered first, the doctor and midwife were both packing up, but she paid them no mind as her attention was fully set on the bed and the two – no, three – bodies that laid on it.

Elise was laying on the bed, her eyes were barely open and her hair a disheveled mess, but in her arms was a small bundle of cloth that captured all of Anna's attention. She nearly squealed when she caught sight of it.

Anna approached the bed cautiously and Elsa, who was lying on the bed with Elise, smiled up at her. Anna looked at her and waited for the answer to her unspoken question

"Frida," Elsa said. _It was a girl after all. How wonderful._

Anna caught the attention of Elise's heavy eyes, who weakly smiled up at her as well. Anna looked between her and the baby.

"Go ahead," she whispered. Anna leaned in and gently pulled back some of the blanket to expose baby Frida's face. She was tiny, Anna had never seen anything like it. She nearly had a heart attack at how cute she was.

"She looks exactly like Elsa when she was born," Gerda commented from the side. "Though she lacks Elsa's hair." The old maid hadn't been present at Elsa's birth, otherwise she would have known about Elise, but she was one of the first to see her when the Queen had finally emerged from her birthing room days later.

True to her words, Frida's hair was a slightly darker blonde than Elsa's. Not like Elsa had anything to do with it, at least that's what Anna told herself. No one really knew what was going on though. Most normal people figured the Queen had slept with a man to bear an heir. That was considered the default and common theory. Considering those people didn't know about Elsa and Elise's relationship, that was a reasonable theory. For those who did know though were even more confused. Elise accused Elsa of somehow impregnating her. Elsa denied it, but truly believed that Elise had gone through some kind of virgin conception. The rest of them, Anna included, rejected the twin's unrealistic theories, but had nothing to offer instead and couldn't bring themselves to argue against the two twins.

Elise had fallen asleep at some point while Anna watched the sleeping baby. Elsa noticed and moved to hold Firda herself. Elsa may have denied responsibility for Elise's conception, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to deny the responsibility of being the child's mother.

Watching Elsa take the child in her arms was a sight to behold. Anna had her doubts that Elsa was ever going to get the chance to hold a child of her own. Anna was glad to be proven wrong.

Elsa radiated joy as she held the baby and Anna found her own eyes teary when Elsa started crying to herself. Eventually, Anna was invited into bed to join her sister's side. She laid there just watching little Frida sleep for hours. At some point Elsa had fallen asleep, leaving the child to be fought over by her still wide awake aunt and grandfather. They both took turns until only Anna was left awake.

Anna sat with her back to the headboard as her eyes drew heavy. Her head dropped down and popped back up, but on the way back up, her eyes caught the most curious thing.

She looked back down. Two bright blue eyes were looking up at all.

"H-hi..."

The baby was looking up at her. Then it started to fuss.

Anna never got a chance to try to calm her down before she was whisked away by her mother followed by some kind of incoherent mumble. Anna was flabbergasted at how quickly Elise had grabbed the child away to nurse. She wasn't even sure Elise had even been awake when she took her.

Anna didn't have long to dwell on it, before she cuddled up with Elsa and quickly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Elsa and Elise strove for independence in their daily lives. This carried over into their parenting as well. Most royal parents would have left their kids to a nanny while they managed ruling their kingdom. Between Elsa, Elise, and Anna though, they had somehow managed to be there for little Frida for most of her early years while balancing running the kingdom. It was hard, harder than Elsa could have imagined, but it felt right. Elise's unexpected pregnancy had been a miracle and the answer to Elsa's prayers to repair Elise's psychological trauma. She even managed to figure out how to fix her limp so that she could have a chance to walk with her child without any handicap.

As blessed as they were, raising a child while trying to manage the kingdom at the same time proved to be completely counterproductive to the reason they married in the first place. Their workload only increased. They never seemed to have a chance to rest or enjoy as much free time, but it only served to bring the two twins closer together and in the end that was all that really mattered.

* * *

"Frida?" Elise called out into the hall. The two-year-old bundle of Elise's joy had escaped her sight again, determined to use her new powers of walking to explore every inch of the castle.

Frida didn't make it far. Elise found her stopped at a painting of the former King and Queen. Elise smiled when she saw her scrunch up her button nose as she looked over the portrait. She could just imagine Frida's little brain working overtime as she slowly started to recognize her mothers' own visage in the former Queen.

"Who's that?" Frida asked when Elise joined her side, pointing to the former Queen.

"Your grandparents," Elise answered flatly. She smiled when Frida scrunched up her face again in thought. "Like Grandpa Anved."

"Oh."

"They're Mama Elsa's mother and father," Elise explained.

"Ohhhh. Where are they?"

Elise shut her mouth before continuing and looked up at the ceiling looking for an answer. "They're not here anymore."

"Okay."

_That was easy._

"Mama's mommy looks like you," the little princess observed.

_Very smart._

"Techincally, she's my real mom. Mama Elsa and I are sisters too, sweetie." It was already beginning and she was only two. A lifetime of questions and awkward conversations awaited the twins.

The child remained quiet though and Elise feared she may have overloaded her brain.

"That's weird," Frida suddenly said, causing Elise to look down at her sharply and choke on her breath.

_Wh-what the…_

"Mommy, why don't I have a daddy?" Frida continued her barrage of unwanted questions.

_Frida, stop._

"Even Aunt Anna's new baby has a daddy," she pointed out.

Elise was struck silent. She looked around the hall, well aware Frida's eyes were locked onto her. Elise turned around and found Elsa watching them from a doorway. She tried mouthing for help, but Elsa just covered her mouth to suppress a giggle and leaned on the doorframe to continue watching them.

'Listen, Frida," Elise began as she leaned down and picked up the curious child. "You don't need a daddy because you are special."

"Like you and mama?" the little girl exclaimed.

"Exactly." Elise drove her point home by using her finger to push a snowflake at Frida's nose. The child giggled when it contacted her face and burst into a bunch of smaller snowflakes.

But the child's grin quickly faded. "Then why can't I make magic too?"

Elsa couldn't cover up her laughing this time as Elise sighed. Frida had not developed powers like Elsa and Elise. According to Gerda and Kai, Elsa was already showing off her powers at this age. Worse was that Frida wasn't immune to the cold like Elsa and Elise. It made their powers extra dangerous around the child, but they were managing well. She could have been a late bloomer, but they both doubted it by this point. In way, they were both thankful.

"Oh, Frida, you're special in your own way," Elsa said as she came out of her hiding spot. "You'll understand when you're older, my little princess."

Elsa joined them and the three embraced. Elsa's answer seemed to be enough for Frida's curiosity and she stopped asking further questions.

Elise placed Frida back on the ground and the two mothers each took a hand and led her back to her playroom. On the way back though, Elise caught Elsa taking another glance at the portrait behind them.

* * *

"Mama?"

Elsa was awoken from her thoughts by Frida's soft voice. She looked down at the two-year-old child. Her dark hair and bright blue eyes were always a welcoming sight. Elsa knew her little sister impatiently waited for Frida to get older so she could start finding the deviations from Elise's looks.

Unfortunately for Anna, and to Elsa's great amusement, Frida never changed. According to those who watched Elsa grow up, Frida continued to look exactly like Elsa and Elise. The only exception was her blonde hair, which continued to grow darker and darker. Elsa expected it to turn black one day, but she had a feeling it was heading towards brunette like her own mother. An abnormality no doubt, but Elsa no longer mused over such things. Elsa and Elise were just as much the queens of abnormal as they were the queens of Arendelle.

"Yes, Frida?"

"Where's Mommy Elise?" Elsa's grip on the little girl tightened ever so slightly and her breathing hitched.

"She's at a meeting, honey. She'll be back soon," Elsa answered. It was true, Elise was only at a meeting. But soon Elise was going to be leaving and the quiet – or not so quiet – two years that they had would be coming to an end.

But in the meantime, Elsa relished in the memory of all that had happened in the past four years. Falling in love with Elise, the coup, Elise's pregnancy, and raising their child felt like a lifetime already to Elsa. But Elsa was still only in her mid-twenties and Frida still a baby. They had a lifetime ahead of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my two beta readers, Mig and Rd.
> 
> So this is pretty much it. There are still two more chapters, but they are short epilogue types. They'll both be out over the next few days. The first one is more of a story epilogue. The second one ties up the prologue and the original intentions of this fic – a historical account if Elsa and Elise's rule as twin queens. If anyone remembers from the beginning, I had originally intended for this to be a boring historical account written like a textbook, but I decided to drop that idea and make it into a regular story. So then it became a historical account told from the view point of a regular story. As such, the first epilogue is told from their point of views while the second one is told from an outsider's point of view.
> 
> Also wanted to make it clear that Frida is not a magical lesbian baby. There is no in-story explanation, though there is some hints dropped in the second epilogue. I'll explain it in the A/N afterwards and answer any questions you may have if you're still confused.
> 
> Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any questions, comments, or reviews.


	29. The Rule of the Twin Queens

The drama of real life always returned, it was inescapable. The situation that the coup put Arendelle and Sweden-Norway in finally boiled over. Queen Elsa would watch Queen Elise march off to war a second time as she gripped their two year old child, Crown Princess Frida, tightly in her arms and cried.

But Queen Elsa and Queen Elise had prepared themselves in those years since the coup. Queen Elise had resurrected Arendelle's army. Using the labor and captured weapons from the coup, the Queens of Arendelle built a formidable army. Queen Elsa resurrected the ski troops that had served Denmark-Norway in the Napoleonic Wars. The Ski Corp became the pride of Arendelle. The fleet was upgraded as well, with Admiral Hoffman's – now Count Anved Hoffman – successor running the show. Elsa had even managed to secure the purchase of a steamer from American shipyards using funds from her contract with the ice traders.

When it came time for war in the winter of 1846, Arendelle was ready and Elsa's wish for Elise's safe return was answered with a few extra gifts. Elise's light ski troops devastated the Swedish advancing troops in the mountains of Arendelle's interior. She continued to march on, her forces eventually forcing all of Sweden's own out of Norway's historical borders. The Royal Navy all the while kept the Swedish Navy at bay, using it's fjords to great effect.

At the same time, Norwegian nationalist fever had been reaching its height once again, but this time it wasn't just for a united Norway, it was for an independent Norway. The success of the Arendelle crown against the coup three years earlier had fueled that fire.

So when Elise's successful armies marched on Oslo, they were met with cheers and open arms. While Elise's ski troops continued to harass enemy forces at the border, politicians and diplomats desperately tried to solve the crisis before other nations in the region were dragged into the conflict. Queen Elsa worked diligently at the diplomatic table while Princess Anna cared for her niece.

Finally, in the fall of 1847, a peace treaty was signed between Arendelle and the Kingdom of Sweden. The Union of Sweden-Norway was no more. Nationalist fever and Elise's occupation had won out. The rest of Norway was ceded to Arendelle and Norway was finally reunited, just as the conspirators of the coup had wanted. Except it was reunited under a different banner, the banner of the Kingdom of Arendelle-Norway, as the new name became.

Elise was back home by winter and to Elsa's great relief, without the scars of war. Elise claimed to be used to it by now, but Elsa had always figured having Frida back home on her mind made everything alright. It could have been a little bit of both. Regardless, Queen Elsa and Queen Elise were allowed to return to their lives once she returned from the war.

But there was still work to be done yet. The Revolutions of 1848 swept across Europe soon after the war with Sweden ended. Though Arendelle-Norway's population was much more stable than other European populations, Elsa and Elise preempted any trouble by introducing a new constitution and implementing a quasi-parliamentary system of government. Elsa and Elise remained queens, but they'd be now working with an elected official, a Prime Minister.

It came to no surprise to Elsa when Princess Anna was elected to that position. Elsa had witnessed her grow and develop and both her and Elise knew how much Arendelle loved her. Anna would serve as Prime Minister for almost thirty years, wallowing in the close contact that the position gave her to both her sisters and the people.

Those were the highlight years of the rule of the twin Queens of Arendelle. Though there were a few hiccups and crisis here and there in later years, the rest of their rule was relatively quiet. Following the 1840s, the crown had taken a lesser role in the ruling of Arendelle-Norway as well. This allowed Queen Elsa and Elise to spend even more time with their growing family and though it may have been quiet on the political front, it was hardly quiet within the castle itself.

Aren Castle was the liveliest it had ever been. Not a day went by when there was a lonely time within the castle walls, not with the countless friends they had made and Anna's own children. Elise's adopted father visited often, almost every night, and their American friends from the coup were always welcomed in Elsa's court.

When Elsa looked back on it, she still had a hard time understanding how she ended up like this, surrounded by friends and family alike after spending almost her entire childhood alone. Elise thought the exact same.

And so they continued to rule and live together, with their sister always within arm's reach, raising their child along the way. Miraculously, Princess Frida hadn't inherited the powers of winter that her mother had. Elsa was relieved, but she and Elise had been ready to guide their daughter if she had inherited the magic. However, she did inherit their looks, it was almost eerie even to her parents, how exactly alike she looked to Elsa and Elise. Had it not been for her grandmother's brunette hair, she could have been considered a triplet.

It was a long and happy, filled with far more good memories than bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta readers, Mig and road.
> 
> As I've said before, there's still one more chapter left. I'll be posting it tomorrow.
> 
> Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any questions, comments, or reviews.


	30. Epilogue

The Twin Queens of Arendelle would forever be remembered for their role in the reunification of Norway. It isn't surprising that, after the horrors of the early twentieth century, their awesome powers over winter were overlooked and in some cases forgotten. It had helped that their use of their powers had completely disappeared from the public eye by the 1850s.

Stories would be rewritten and eventually it came to a point where some people even argued that their magic had never existed. Some historians argued that they were flukes; the Great Freeze was a freak summer blizzard and the use of the twin's powers in the Coup of 1843 was an early winter and that the stories of magic were fabricated to cover up their incestuous relationship.

Still, no one denies the pivotal role the two queens had in the formation of the Kingdom of Norway; Arendelle was dropped from the name in 1905 following the abdication of Queen Frida. There was so little worth mentioning following the 1840s in Queen Elsa and Queen Elise's rule that they were more often than not overlooked by the rest of the world. But it was the secrets that the crown hung on to so dearly that kept the twin queens in the limelight well after their deaths that would spark debates in the future.

One of the more global centric ones was the American intervention during the Coup of 1843. Despite eye witness accounts from civilians and soldiers alike, both the United States and Norwegian governments strictly denied the intervention by United States Marines. However, because of the mounting evidence, it was always viewed as fact in the historical community. It wasn't until the 2000s that both governments finally admitted the truth.

Another debate involved the queens' personal lives. The marriage between the two sisters had always been looked at oddly by the world and while rumors had always existed, official word eventually leaked out of the true nature of Queen Elsa and Queen Elise's relationship. An old journal from a former castle employee was first leaked in 1921 which sparked a debate about the true relationship. The aging former-Queen Frida fought viciously against the rumors and did so for the rest of her life.

Her efforts were for naught, as more and more evidence leaked over the decades (one of which included a journal entry claiming that Princess Anna confessed to a handmaiden that then Crown Princess Elise tried to have sex with her). By the end of the twentieth century, it was commonly accepted that Queen Elsa and Queen Elise had been in an incestuous lesbian relationship. It would become one of the more well-known and possibly the strangest cases of royalty partaking in out of norm behavior. The twin queens are frequently looked into by modern psychologists attempting to understand their psyche, so much to the point that the two queens would become household names to the budding psychological student.

But the bigger and most famous debate was that of the lineage of Queen Elise's daughter, Queen Frida. The royal family had always kept quiet about it, but not even the most vicious digging turned up any evidence from them. It would eventually appear that even the royal family didn't know themselves. Speculation was wild with theories ranging from virginal conception on par with the Virgin Mary to any male that frequented the castle during the time of her conception. Princess Frida's exact appearance to her mother only fueled the wildest of theories and some even suggested that magic had been used. The debate finally reached a climax and the royal family allowed Queen Frida's body to be exhumed for DNA testing in 2006. Unfortunately, the sample was deemed contaminated and the results thrown out after they came up showing that Frida shared the same father as her mother-it was a complete match to both Elsa and Elise. To this day, the mystery remains unsolved who her father really was.

Magic, forbidden love, war, and mystery. The Story of the Twin Queens is not one to be forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it. I appreciate everyone who read through it and left reviews. I especially appreciate my two beta readers.
> 
> If you haven't already know, I am also working on a short fic called Anna the Sorceress. It's more of a smut fic, but it does contain an onionElsa character. I haven't worked on the next chapter of it as of now, but plan too now that I finished this up.
> 
> If you like the idea of early!Elsa, then you should be happy to know I do plan on working on a second story in the future. This one would be much shorter, but I don't plan on writing it until I have a full outline worked out. I'm toying with three separate ideas at the moment and I'll probably let you all know which one I choose either on tumblr or in an update for Anna the Sorceress. It might be a little bit though because I think I'd like to finish Anna the Sorceress up first before starting anything.
> 
> As for the explanation of Frida. I had actually thought of this a while ago. I wanted to avoid the magical lesbian ice baby norm and to do something really out there that made even less sense. That being said, bear with me. Frida is not actually Elise's daughter. Frida is Idunn and Adgar's daughter. Frida is the real Elsa. Long story short, Elsa and Elise are creations of magic that Idunn's familiar history with magic (remember, she is one of the daughters of Rapunzel in this story) allowed to develop in her womb. They're basically magical parasites that took over Frida's spot. If it weren't for them, Frida would have been born as Elsa which goes along with the whole "Elsa would be a brunette if she wasn't magical" headcanon.
> 
> Instead of being born, real Elsa was cryogenically frozen in its embryonic stages and Elise developed around it. Yes, the ice shard that Elsa thawed was Frida's frozen embryo. I realize this is even complicated and makes even less sense than plain magical lesbian ice babies. This is why I decided to leave it out of the story. Review or message me if you have any questions.
> 
> Once again, thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> I originally intended for this story to be a boring historical account of onionElsa (better known as early concept Elsa or Elise in this story) and Elsa existing in the same universe. Why? Because I like writing that kind of stuff. Since then I have decided to merge it with a Frozen sequel idea of mine in which onionElsa is actually a long lost and forgotten twin sister of Elsa who returns to Arendelle to take over. So now I intend to make this a story story with historical accounts, similar to this premise, mixed in between. I can't make any guarantees on updates, but I will try to stick to making one per week.
> 
> As of now, I am undecided if I will include any outright shipping and if I do it will most likely be elsacest (aka incest so be warned). I do plan on throwing in elsanna teases here and there. There won't be straight up elsanna, but let's just their sisterly relationship is implied to be a little outside of nature's laws.
> 
> Also I'd like to take the opportunity to point out that if historical accounts interest you, you should try Ice on the Rhine.
> 
> EDIT: I've since decided to drop the historical accounts mixed into this story. This fic is now straight story up until the epilogue. Also, if you haven't noticed, this is now a full blown elsacest fic.
> 
> Cover image is from tauwnycat on Deviantart. You can so the full image there. And yes I have permission to use it.   
> http://tauwnycat.deviantart.com/art/two-different-Elza-449160566


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